THE third year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 saw China’s box office striving to cope with the impact of sporadic outbreaks, and in the process it managed to generate a total revenue of around 30 billion yuan (US$4.31 billion) for the year.

Though much less than the previous year’s 47 billion yuan, the amount still shows the advances made by domestic films in terms of improved quality and genre diversification in 2022 — all this despite the COVID-19 impact, said industry observers.

Domestic titles lead the yearly box office chart, according to box office tracker Maoyan and other platforms. Similar to the previous two years, the three top-grossing films screened in China in 2022 are all domestic movies. Moreover, Chinese films account for eight of the top 10 earners at China’s 2022 box office.

Domestic patriotic hit “The Battle at Lake Changjin 2” is the year’s top earner, raking in 4.07 billion yuan. This achievement, in addition to the 5.77-billion-yuan revenue from the 2021 war blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” saw the “Changjin” films become China’s top-grossing film series ever, replacing the “Detective Chinatown” comedy movie franchise.

Set during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), the “Changjin” films have been hailed as a milestone of what experts are labeling “new mainstream films.” They not only convey the prevalent values of Chinese society, like many previous patriotic movies, but also have achieved impressive box office results.

The year’s fifth top earner with nearly 1.6 billion yuan, the patriotic action film “Home Coming” has received critical acclaim from critics and moviegoers alike. Many say they are touched by the hero — a Chinese diplomat played by Zhang Yi — in the evacuation of Chinese nationals from a war-torn nation.

Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, commended the movie adapted from real-life events for its exploration of the film genre and opening up new prospects for new mainstream films.

Speaking highly of the domestic drama “Lighting Up the Stars” as a highlight of Chinese films over the year, Rao called it “a realism film” with heart-warming episodes from everyday life.

It stars Zhu Yilong as a former inmate-turned-funeral director who accidentally crosses paths with a girl and experiences an unexpected change in his attitude toward life. The film generated 1.71 billion yuan, ranking fourth in the yearly chart.

The highly-anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water” ranks ninth in the chart, being one of the only two foreign titles to make it to the top 10, along with the adventure flick “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

Despite mixed views since Dec. 16, 2022, the sequel to the 2009 U.S. sci-fi hit “Avatar” has provided a much-needed boost to China’s box office market in the year-end moviegoing period lasting more than five weeks until Dec. 31, 2022. But the impetus is seemingly less than previously expected.

Garnering cumulative earnings of 853 million yuan as of early Friday evening, it currently tops China’s year-end box office chart that tracks ticket revenue from Nov. 25, 2022 through the end of last year, accounting for around 60% of the total, according to movie data platforms.

The U.S. fantasy film has proven a spectacle of visual effects to many moviegoers, though its storyline is labeled by some as simple. Still, its release helped draw many people back to cinemas, with the nationwide cinema opening ratio soaring to above 80% on the debut day.

Maoyan currently forecasts “Avatar: The Way of Water” to complete its box office run in China with about 1.25 billion yuan, much lower than the previously estimated 2 billion-plus yuan.

In China, “Avatar” was released in 2010 and re-released in 2021, generating the box office revenue of 1.7 billion yuan.

With China adjusting its COVID-19 response policy, China’s box office is expected to see more announcements of releases of major titles in the coming weeks or months.

Zhang Yimou’s suspense film “Full River Red” has recently announced its release date — Jan. 22, joining the competitive Spring Festival holiday movie period, along with “The Wandering Earth 2,” a much-anticipated prequel to the 2019 sci-fi blockbuster “The Wandering Earth.”

At the same time, there have been calls from critics for more quality films to draw more moviegoers back to cinemas, citing its significance to the overall film industry recovery.

Rao urged Chinese movies to take a realistic and worldly approach, calling shedding light on the people’s real lives a great way to win the hearts of audience members. (Xinhua)