Top 10 Chinese films in 2025

Editor's note: The Chinese film market in 2025 was dominated by animation. "Ne Zha 2" opened the year as a global phenomenon, and "Zootopia 2" closed it with another blockbuster run. In between, hits like "The Legend of Hei 2," "Nobody," "Flow," "The Bad Guys 2," and "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle" helped the animated film sector earning over 25 billion yuan ($3.54 billion), roughly half of China's total annual box office.

Yet the broader film market experienced ups and downs. Beyond major holiday releases, attendance often cooled due to competition from micro-short dramas and other small-screen entertainment, shifting viewer habits, and the disruptive rise of artificial intelligence all took a toll. The market still grew more than 20% from the same period in 2024, thanks to animation's exceptional performance. As of Dec. 31, the annual box office tally reached over 51.83 billion yuan, according to ticketing platform and box office tracker Maoyan.

This year also marked the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and several war films rose to prominence: "Dead to Rights," "Dongji Rescue," and "Evil Unbound" each prompted audiences in China and abroad to reckon with Japan's brutal war crimes and the sacrifices of the Chinese people.

Here are the 10 Chinese films from 2025 that excelled in artistic merit, cultural value, and audience reception.

10. 'Shenzhou 13'

A poster for "Shenzhou 13." [Image courtesy of IMAX China]

As China's astronaut missions continued to inspire national pride, "Shenzhou 13" offered an answer to public curiosity about life in orbit. The country's first documentary filmed aboard the Tiangong space station, it captured both the vastness of space and the intimate rhythms of daily life.

The Shenzhou-13 crew — taikonauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu — served as cinematographers, telling the story from Wang's perspective in coordination with ground teams. Using specially adapted equipment and space-to-ground communications, they crafted a film with a distinctly Chinese space aesthetic, tracing the crew's personal arc from adaptation and duty to reflection.