China's box office for 2026 passed 31.5 billion yuan (about US$4.73 billion), including presales, as of Monday, Oct. 26, China News Service reported, citing industry data. The figure shows how little cinemas earned after the National Day holiday: CGTN had put the year's total above 31 billion yuan as of Oct. 11.

By Capital Times' calculation from the two reported totals, that leaves roughly half a billion yuan of ticket sales across two weeks. For investors in Hong Kong-listed ticketing and film companies, the October lull extends a difficult year. Maoyan Entertainment, the ticketing platform whose data the industry tracks, warned in July that it expected to swing to a loss for the first half.

A quiet October after a weak holiday

The slowdown followed a soft Golden Week. The National Day holiday season, which ended Oct. 8, took in 1.165 billion yuan, according to Maoyan data reported by CGTN. Three films took more than 70% of that total. Crime thriller Traces of Justice led with 420 million yuan, ahead of the comedy Mr. and Mrs. Pardon at 240 million yuan and Resident Evil: Outbreak Night, which earned 170 million yuan in its first three days after opening on Oct. 5.

October is usually a gap in China's release calendar. The big earners are the Spring Festival in February and the summer school holiday, and studios tend to hold major titles for those windows. With the holiday crowd gone and no large new release to replace it, the two reported totals point to a sharp slowdown after the holiday.

Domestic productions still dominate. China News Service said Chinese films held eight of the year's 10 highest-grossing spots, led by the racing comedy Pegasus 3. The rest of its list included Welcome to Long Restaurant, Kung Fu Soccer, Eight Immortals, Dear You, Blades of the Guardians, Scare Out and the animated Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector. CGTN reported that nine films had each passed 1 billion yuan by mid-October.

What a 40% first-half slump did to Maoyan

The October figures sit on top of a deep first-half decline. In its July 24 profit warning to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Maoyan said China's box office for January to June fell 40.6% from a year earlier to 17.354 billion yuan, and that cinema admissions dropped 34.3% to 421 million.

Maoyan said it expected first-half revenue of 1.75 billion to 1.85 billion yuan, down about 25% to 29% from 2.47 billion yuan a year earlier. It forecast a loss attributable to shareholders of 5 million to 55 million yuan, compared with a profit of 178.5 million yuan in the first half of 2025. The company blamed a shortage of blockbusters, some of its own films falling short of expectations, heavier spending on its live performance business and impairments of up to 100 million yuan tied to strained partners.

Celluloid Junkie, citing Screen Daily, said the first half was the weakest since 2014 outside the pandemic years, with an average ticket price of 41.10 yuan. Pegasus 3, the period's top film, took 4.42 billion yuan, the trade site reported.

The summer helped. Maoyan pointed in its filing to strong summer releases, including Kung Fu Soccer, which had passed 1.7 billion yuan by July 24. By Capital Times' calculation from the reported totals, the market took in about 14 billion yuan from July through Oct. 26, close to the 17.35 billion yuan earned in the whole first half.

Year-end releases now carry the market

The arithmetic leaves cinema chains and distributors relying on November and December, when Hollywood imports and year-end Chinese releases typically arrive. Several mid-year Chinese titles are also seeking revenue abroad: CGTN said Dear You, All Wishes Come True! and Once Upon a Time in the Middle East have opened in overseas cinemas.

For listed players such as Maoyan, the October weakness matters less for any single month than for the full-year comparison. Capital Times calculates from Maoyan's figures that the first half was down about 12 billion yuan from 2025.