by Xinhua writer Zhang Yunlong

BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- China's summer movie season is ending on a strong note as a late surge of domestic hits lifted total box office receipts above last year's haul, signaling renewed momentum in the world's second-largest film market.

According to data from ticketing platform Maoyan, box office earnings for the summer moviegoing season, running from June 1 through Aug. 31, had reached 11.64 billion yuan (about 1.64 billion U.S. dollars) by Friday evening, overtaking the 2024 summer total. Analysts project the final figure will top 12 billion yuan once the weekend's screenings join the count.

The five top-grossing titles of the summer are "Dead to Rights," a film about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre during World War II; "Nobody," a spinoff of the acclaimed "Yao-Chinese Folktales" animation series; "The Shadow's Edge," a crime action flick starring Jackie Chan; "The Lychee Road," a bittersweet drama set during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and starring comedian Da Peng; and Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth."

"The first half of the summer was fairly flat, with the market showing limited heat," said Lai Li, a Maoyan analyst. "But the landscape shifted in the second half, as a wave of domestic films began to take hold."

He explained to Xinhua that major releases such as "The Lychee Road," "Dead to Rights" and "Nobody" drove the summer box office to heat up. By the time the season began winding down, the total box office had surpassed last year's summer figure, achieving a result that can be seen as "fairly satisfactory."

Leading the charge is "Dead to Rights," which has earned over 2.8 billion yuan since its July 25 release, now ranking as the year's third-highest grossing film in China. The film holds a rating of 8.7 out of 10 -- the highest among all this year's summer releases -- on review platform Douban.

Drawing on verified historical photographs, the story depicts a group of Nanjing residents who hide inside a photography studio and are compelled to help a Japanese military photographer develop his film. When they realize the negatives reveal damning evidence of atrocities across the city, they secretly keep possession of them and smuggle the images to the outside world.

Widely praised for its stark restraint and emotional force, this cinematic depiction of a traumatic chapter in China's history has been hailed by renowned director Feng Xiaoning as "a new high point" for Chinese cinema. "When the film ended, the entire audience remained seated, unmoving, until the credits had fully rolled. Everyone was lost in deep thought," he said, sharing his reaction to the film in a widely circulated video. "I believe every Chinese person -- and everyone in the world with a conscience -- will be shaken by this film."

Coming in second is "Nobody," a hand-drawn animated feature that has grossed nearly 1.4 billion yuan since its Aug. 2 release, setting a new record for 2D animation in China.

For critics, the success of "Nobody" and recent myth-inspired film and gaming hits such as "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Ne Zha 2" signals a broader revival of Chinese mythology in popular culture, where ancient legends are being reimagined to address contemporary issues such as identity, choice and social pressure, allowing them to resonate more deeply with audiences today.

Shifting the focus from divine heroes to mythical creatures, "Nobody" serves as a humorous yet poignant take on contemporary life. Its protagonists, led by a pig yaoguai -- a Chinese monster -- wrestle with workplace monotony, social hierarchies, and unspoken pressures. "'Nobody' strikes a chord with both adults and kids because it channels this contemporary theme of struggling for autonomy and self-expression," observed Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.

Echoing this view, Lai noted that in recent years, myth and legend have increasingly become a source of creativity for Chinese film. "The success of 'Nobody' shows that whether in 3D or 2D animation, and whether the protagonist is a well-known figure like the Monkey King or a group of lesser-known creatures, as long as the story is strong and the emotions are compelling, there is plenty of room for exciting new possibilities," he said.

With "Dead to Rights" capturing historical memory and "Nobody" energizing animation, this year's summer box office has underscored the enduring pull of local storytelling. After the 2025 box office cooled following a Spring Festival peak driven by animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2," this summer's strong finish delivers a much-needed confidence boost. ■