Just three days into China’s National Day holiday, the country’s box office has already surged past 1 billion yuan ($143 million), outpacing last year’s performance. Nearly 10 films are on offer, with themes spanning sci-fi, anti-child trafficking dramas, patriotism, and traditional Chinese dance culture.

Leading the box office this holiday season is “The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death,” a patriotic war epic directed by Chen Kaige. Other top contenders include the sci-fi thriller “The 749 Bureau” and “Transformers One,” the latest spinoff in the global franchise.

On Oct.1, the first day of the week-long national holiday, 11.46 million moviegoers packed theaters across the country, with 464,000 screenings — setting a new record for the National Day holiday. This surge in ticket sales comes as a welcome surprise after a gloomy summer season.

According to data from ticketing platform Dengta Pro, the summer box office, running from June to August, generated just 11.643 billion yuan, nearly half of last year’s 20.63 billion yuan.

Despite the strong start, the market’s future remains uncertain. Data from the ticketing platform Maoyan shows that on the second day of the holiday, the total box office earnings were 50 million yuan lower than the same day last year.

Experts cautioned that this drop in performance, combined with negative feedback toward several films, could dampen audience enthusiasm and long-term sales.

A key factor behind this trend, according to industry experts, is the overall quality of films this season. One example is the sci-fi film “The 749 Bureau,” starring Wang Junkai, the popular singer from the boyband TFBoys. Despite grossing 170 million yuan on its opening day and topping the box office, the film has received widespread negative feedback. Discussions about the movie’s quality quickly trended on Weibo, amassing millions of views.

Director Lu Chuan, known for the hits “Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe” and “City of Life and Death,” responded to criticism of “The 749 Bureau” on Wednesday, asking that it be directed at him rather than the cast and crew.

While some praised the film’s visual effects, most criticism focused on plot holes and inconsistent character development. The movie currently holds a rating of 4.8 on the ratings platform Douban. After opening strong, its earnings plummeted to 77 million yuan on the second day, with just 29 million yuan collected by 5 p.m. Thursday.

“I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles in the cinema,” Zhang Yuzhao, a 25-year-old postgraduate student from Guangdong, told Sixth Tone. He was particularly surprised by a scene where the film’s characters suggested letting a monster register for a household permit and “serve the people.”

Zhang, who watched four films on the first day of the holiday, chose “The 749 Bureau” for its Chinese science theme. “The National Day release window is a well-established and competitive period, so films that choose to premiere during this time usually have strong backing,” he said.

As of Thursday, the highest-grossing film is “The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death,” set during the Korean War, which has collected 420 million yuan so far. Directed by Chen Kaige, it is the sequel to last year’s hit “The Volunteers: To The War,” which earned 868 million yuan.

Analysts from China International Capital Corporation predicted that the 2024 box office could reach 2.46 billion yuan, a 10% drop from last year, attributing the decline to weaker content and more cautious viewing habits from audiences.

Editor: Apurva.

(Header image: At a movie theater in Shanghai, Oct. 2, 2024. VCG)