China's Spring Festival Box Office Surpasses 3.2 Billion: 'Pegasus 3' Takes the Lead by a Large Margin

The China National Film Administration released data on the 24th showing that the 2026 Spring Festival box office has reached 5.752 billion yuan (about 3.251 billion ringgit), with 120 million moviegoers. 'Pegasus 3' leads the box office, while 'Soundless Insect Awakening', 'Bladesman: Raging Desert', 'Boonie Bears: Bear Year After Year', 'Panda Project: Tribe Adventure', and 'Dreams Across the Galaxy' rank 2nd to 6th.

Although the Spring Festival pre-sale performance was mediocre this year, the release of a number of New Year films has led to a "turnaround", and as of the morning of the 24th, total box office has surpassed 5.752 billion yuan. Among them, the racing comedy 'Pegasus 3', starring Shen Teng, Huang Jingyu, and Fan Chengcheng, has been a frontrunner from start to finish, currently posting an impressive box office total of 2.927 billion yuan (about 1.654 billion ringgit), occupying "half of the Spring Festival box office!"

'Bladesman' Succeeds Against the Odds; Takes Top Spot Among Martial Arts Films

As for the 80-year-old director Yuen Woo-ping, who poured his heart into filming 'Bladesman: Raging Desert'—rumored to have a 1.5 billion yuan (about 840 million ringgit) investment, and starring Wu Jing, Jet Li, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Yu Shi, and Max Zhang—the film was shot largely on location in the Xinjiang desert. Lead actor Wu Jing fought from start to finish, often risking his life against dust storms, enduring hardships few outsiders understand. However, the film’s initial release met with a lukewarm response. It wasn’t until recently, thanks to strong word-of-mouth, that the film saw four consecutive days of daily box office growth. Currently, its total box office has surpassed 800 million yuan (about 450 million ringgit), overtaking 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero' to become the highest-grossing martial arts film in China in nearly ten years, but whether it can recoup its investment remains uncertain. The film is also performing well overseas, with Malaysian box office surpassing 5 million ringgit in recent days.

In contrast, the film 'Dreams Across the Galaxy', starring Wang Hedi and Victoria Song and in its second release, despite intense promotion by the team, only managed less than 80 million yuan (about 45.2 million ringgit) at the box office. Lack of screening times has been cited as a fatal blow, and there are even rumors it may be withdrawn from theaters at any time.

'Night King' Launches "Clean Version"

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong New Year film 'Night King', which is 'regionally restricted' in China, was released in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions in a "clean version" with profanity and "objectification of women" elements removed. After five days, its box office reached about 70 million yuan (about 39.55 million ringgit), and due to its high seat occupancy rate, was actively given more screenings. On the 23rd, it began screening nationwide and is expected to challenge the 200 million yuan (about 110 million ringgit) box office mark. The film has also done well in Hong Kong, breaking 50 million Hong Kong dollars (about 24.91 million ringgit) in just seven days, setting a new record for the fastest local New Year film, and currently leads the New Year release rankings. The Malaysian box office has also fared well, with takings surpassing 5.6 million ringgit as of noon on the 23rd.