Understanding the Market | Film Stocks Strengthen in Early Trading as Summer Box Office Continues to Surge, Top Films' Positive Reviews Boost Overall Viewing Demand
Film stocks performed strongly in the morning, with Lemon Films rising 33.03%, DAMAI ENT rising 8.94%, MAOYAN ENT rising 6.05%, and IMAX CHINA rising 1.2%. As of August 18, the total box office for the summer 2025 film season is close to 10 billion yuan, with over 260 million viewers. China International Capital Corporation (CICC) believes that the box office decline is influenced by the release schedule of major films, and as word-of-mouth improves, viewing demand is recovering. Policy improvements may drive the gradual restoration of the film industry's business model
According to Zhitong Finance APP, film and television stocks strengthened in early trading. As of the time of publication, Lemon Films (09857) rose by 33.03% to HKD 5.8; DAMAI ENT (01060) increased by 8.94% to HKD 1.34; MAOYAN ENT (01896) climbed by 6.05% to HKD 8.24; IMAX CHINA (01970) went up by 1.2% to HKD 8.4.
In terms of news, according to data from online platforms, as of 4 PM on August 18, the total box office for the summer season of 2025 (including pre-sales) reached 9.956 billion yuan, and it is expected to surpass the 10 billion yuan mark on August 18; the total number of moviegoers has exceeded 260 million, showing significant growth compared to the same period last year. In addition, the latest statistics from MAOYAN Professional Edition show that the domestic animated film "Wang Wang Mountain Little Monster" has accumulated a box office of over 1.0026 billion yuan. CICC pointed out that the national box office, including service fees, fell by 24.3% in July, but showed a marginal recovery trend in August. The firm believes that the decline in the overall box office is mainly affected by the late release schedule of major films during the summer season. As the word-of-mouth for "Nanjing Photo Studio" and "Wang Wang Mountain Little Monster" improves, the demand for viewing in August has shown signs of recovery. They suggest paying attention to the box office performance of key films and the profit elasticity brought by the commercialization of IP derivatives.
It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of 2025, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice on "Several Economic Policies to Promote High-Quality Development of Culture," which clearly emphasizes the need to promote the creation of high-quality cultural products, particularly in film, television, and animation. Huaxi Securities stated that if the policy direction improves as expected, the film and television sector is at a turning point following the lifting of game license restrictions at the end of 2022. With marginal improvements in policy, looking ahead, the industry's business model is expected to gradually improve, high-quality long drama projects are likely to be launched more quickly, and the supply of major industry dramas may gradually recover, thereby accelerating inventory reduction and promoting faster cash turnover for new businesses
