China Focus: "Mission: Impossible" powers China's Duanwu holiday box office surge

by Xinhua writer Zhang Yunlong

BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" gave China's box office a notable boost over the Duanwu Festival holiday, leading the slate with 190 million yuan (about 26.44 million U.S. dollars) and helping push the period's total box office revenue past 457 million yuan as of 9 p.m. Monday, according to film data platform Maoyan.

Running from May 31 to June 2 and overlapping with Children's Day on June 1, this year's Duanwu (Dragon Boat Festival) period exceeded expectations with the box office surpassing last year's total of 383 million yuan. Analysts attributed the strong showing to the combined effect of the dual holiday window and marquee titles.

Released a day before the holiday, "The Final Reckoning" quickly took the top spot. By Monday evening, it had earned more than 228 million yuan in China, continuing the franchise's solid track record in the market.

"The overall performance of this year's Duanwu slate exceeded expectations and came as a pleasant surprise," said Maoyan analyst Lai Li. "On June 1, Children's Day, total ticket sales in China surpassed 200 million yuan -- not only the highest for that date in five years, but also the first time in 84 days that daily revenue crossed the 200 million mark."

Echoing this, Chen Jin, an analyst at film data platform Beacon, said classic IPs are the backbone of this success. While the eighth installment in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise leads the pack, Japan's Doraemon series continues to perform steadily, with the current film achieving the highest rating yet -- 9.6 out of 10 -- in the franchise's history on ticketing platform Taopiaopiao.

Lai added that the momentum could carry into the summer. "The Duanwu box office outperformance helped re-energize the market and served as an early boost for the upcoming summer season," he said. "We're hopeful the heat will keep rising, and the box office will continue delivering strong results."

Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, also welcomed the holiday's strong showing, saying it has given confidence to China's filmmakers. "No matter the time or place, confidence is more valuable than gold," he said.

Highlighting the standout performance of "The Final Reckoning," Rao said, "It shows that Tom Cruise still has strong box office appeal and influence in China."

Calling international films, including Hollywood productions, "an important and beneficial supplement to the Chinese film market" and "an essential part of China's deeper and higher-level openness in cinema," Rao added that competition with international productions can help raise the quality of Chinese films and support their sustainable, long-term growth.

The "Mission: Impossible" franchise has historically performed well in China. The previous film, 2023's "Dead Reckoning," earned 48.75 million U.S. dollars in the country, representing 8.5 percent of its global total. Overall, the first seven installments of the series have grossed approximately 487 million U.S. dollars in China, or about 11.6 percent of the franchise's 4.2 billion U.S. dollars worldwide take, according to film data platform Box Office Mojo.

Other top titles during this year's Duanwu window included Japan's "Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Art World Tales" (67 million yuan), local animated film "Endless Journey of Love" (63 million yuan), Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" (51 million yuan), and domestic crime thriller "Behind the Shadows" (38 million yuan), according to Maoyan data as of 9 p.m. Monday.

China's summer movie season, which runs from June through August, is one of the busiest and most lucrative periods of the year. With the Duanwu titles already injecting energy into cinemas, industry players are watching closely to see if the momentum will carry through the summer. ■