According to statistics from the National Film Administration, China's box office revenue for the 2023 summer movie season starting on June 1 had exceeded 17.8 billion yuan as of Friday morning, setting a new record. Additionally, movie theater visits this summer have already surpassed 435 million.

"The summer film market offers diverse genres and themes, with noticeably enhanced movie quality compared to the past. This has sparked greater audience enthusiasm for cinema," said Yin Hong, a professor at Tsinghua University.

Despite the fact that a number of imported films competed in the market this summer, domestic films still demonstrated an obvious leading advantage, achieving an unprecedented market share of more than 85%. Several movies honoring traditional Chinese culture have proved to be immensely popular with audiences, such as "Chang An" and "Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms."

The animated film "Chang An" is set during the Tang dynasty (618-907), tells the story of the friendship between famous poets Gao Shi and Li Bai, and also introduces a group of their contemporary poets. In total, the film features more than 40 Tang poems. With the help of animation, the film presents the classic charm of Tang poetry passed down for more than a thousand years.

Their poetry evokes imagination, and the animated film adeptly showcases this aspect, enabling people to empathize with the protagonist and experience what he saw and felt at that time, said Li Yifan, a university student who watched the movie.

The film "Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms," adapted from the Chinese fantasy novel "Investiture of the Gods," tells the story of a mythical war which dates back more than 3,000 years. Using advanced film technology and modern interpretation, it presents "China's own mythological epic" on the big screen.

Editor:  Guo Lili