Stars light up China's summer cinemas as market seeks rebound

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By Zhang Yunlong (Xinhua) 08:48, June 12, 2025

Actress Zhang Ziyi poses during a photocall for the film "She's got no name" at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- After a notable box office boost over the Duanwu Festival holiday -- powered by Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" -- and with a wave of high-profile films like star-studded "She's Got No Name" joining the schedule, China's summer movie season, running from June 1 to Aug. 31, is heating up alongside the weather.

With the Aug. 8 release of Guan Hu's "Dongji Island" announced on Wednesday, the three-month window -- seen by industry observers as China's most important movie period second only to the Spring Festival holiday -- now boasts a lineup of more than 70 domestic and foreign films, ranging from crime thrillers and historical features to animated fantasies and Hollywood imports.

But beneath the packed schedule lies an urgent question: which ones will be this year's runaway hits? It's more than a popularity contest. After a 44 percent drop in 2024's summer takings from the year prior, the Chinese film market is looking to the season for signs of resilience and perhaps revival. That rebound, if it comes, may hinge on whether one or several high-performing films can once again galvanize the public and drive momentum across the board.

Some in the industry see "She's Got No Name," set for release on June 21, as the season's first real momentum builder. "If 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning,' which opened on May 30, served as a soft launch," film critic and Shandong-based cinema manager Dong Wenxin told Xinhua, "then 'She's Got No Name,' packed with stars, may be the one to spark the summer's first real surge."

Directed by Peter Chan and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jackson Yee, Zhao Liying and Lei Jiayin, the highly anticipated noir-tinged thriller is based on a sensational 1945 murder in Shanghai. A sharp re-edit of the 150-minute Cannes version that drew polarized responses last year, the upcoming release runs 96 minutes, now promoted as the first installment of a two-part series. Anticipation remains high: Chan spent eight years on the script, rebuilt historic Shanghai alleyways for the shoot, and framed the story through the lens of gendered violence.

Dong sees the next major box office surge arriving in late July, driven by the release of period comedy "The Lychee Road" on July 25 and historical feature "731," currently titled "731 Biochemical Revelations" in English, on July 31. In an interview with Xinhua, Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, also expressed particular interest in the two titles, as well as "Dongji Island."

U.S. actor and producer Tom Cruise (3rd R) and cast members of the film "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" arrive on the red carpet for the world premiere of the film at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

The Zhao Linshan directed "731," which stars Jiang Wu and Wang Zhiwen, revisits the horrific World War II-era human experiments conducted by Japan's Unit 731, documenting a painful chapter of history while portraying the Chinese people's heroic resistance. Leading all summer titles in advance interest with over 600,000 "want to see" clicks on film platform Maoyan, the film could emerge as a cultural flashpoint for both its emotionally charged subject and patriotic undertones.

Also grounded in history, "Dongji Island," starring Zhu Yilong, recounts the true story of Chinese fishermen rescuing over 300 British prisoners of war in October 1942, after the Japanese transport ship "Lisbon Maru" was torpedoed and left to sink, despite being secretly packed with more than 1,800 prisoners. The same events were previously explored in Fang Li's critically acclaimed 2024 documentary, "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru."

Comedy remains a genre with mass appeal. Based on a popular novel by Ma Boyong, "The Lychee Road" is directed by comedian Da Peng, who also stars in the lead role. The film follows a Tang Dynasty (618-907) official tasked with the near-impossible mission of transporting fresh lychees -- typically perishable within days -- on a grueling 2,500-km journey from Lingnan in southern China to the capital, Chang'an. His desperate ingenuity in overcoming the logistical challenge becomes a sharp satire of bureaucratic absurdity.

Rao said the film's source material already boasts a strong fan base, and its TV drama adaptation has helped warm up audiences ahead of the theatrical release. "Comedy films are almost a necessity during summer," he added, noting the film's box office potential.