With the gradual recovery of the Chinese film market (13.780, 0.38, 2.84%), March and April, which was originally regarded as the "off-season of cinema", also appears to be "full of spring". A large number of different types of Chinese and foreign new films are released in rotation, which can bring surprises to the audience almost every week. It is also expected to boost the box office to more than 20 billion yuan in 2023.

A "cold season"?

A total of 39 new films were released in March, more than in the same month last year, and word of mouth and box office numbers also improved. As of March 30, the monthly box office of March reached 1.81 billion yuan: Keep You Safe, which was released on March 10, was 480 million yuan, Corridor Pavilion, which was released on the same day, was 190 million yuan, and The Journey of the Bell Buds, which was released on March 24, has also generated 380 million yuan, which is quite rare in the "unpopular season".

In addition, a number of films that have been shown recently have gained good reputation. The scores of "Keep you Safe", "The Umbilical Cord", "Otto", "The Journey of the Bell Bud" and "More and More" are all above 7 points on Douban. No matter the realistic theme, warm art film, comedy or animation, they all win the love of different audiences with their own high level.

Dungeons and Dragons: Glory of the Thief, A Great Night, Hachi, Escape From the Cretaceous, Mrs. Harris Makes It to Paris and Make in India are among the films that will hit audiences on the last weekend of March. Among them, Dungeons and Dragons: Glory of the Theft, which is adapted from the classic game IP, was released simultaneously in China and the United States. It has been praised by the North American media before, and scored 71 points on Metacritic website, which is considered as "the game adaptation that can bring surprises".

Dungeons & Dragons: Starring Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez, Glory opens the world of Dungeons and Dragons to a team of adventurers and thieves, with special effects and comedy that can satisfy gamers as well as ordinary audiences, and is expected to do well at the box office, helping to save face for disappointing Hollywood blockbusters like Shazam 2 and Ant-Man 3.

"Escape From the Cretaceous" was released in North America in early March to less than favorable reviews. The sci-fi action film about a pilot who travels back 65 million years to survive the Cretaceous period was seen as lacking in novelty by the press. British-french co-productions Mrs Harris Makes her Way to Paris and Make in India are niche films with small distribution.

By contrast, there's more to watch in "The Big Night," a rare "comedy thriller" on the market, written and directed by upstart director Ma Kai, about three friends who have an accident with a thriller crew.

"Atypical science fiction"

At present, 44 films have been released in April. The Space Exploration Editor, which will be released on April 1, is an "atypical science fiction film". The director Kong Dashan is the director of the B group of The Wandering Earth 2. The Space Exploration Editor tells the story of the declining science fiction magazine Space Exploration. The editor embarks on an expedition to find alien civilizations and friends.

Poster for the Space Exploration Editorial Office

The film, which won awards at the Pingyao Film Festival and the Beijing Film Festival, has already scored 8.7 on Douban, which is expected to be a box office success. Also nostalgic is the April 3 re-release of Titanic, the classic romantic disaster film released in 1998 and 2012, which grossed more than 1.3 billion yuan in China. This time, Titanic may be able to arouse the enthusiasm of audiences thanks to the popularity of director Cameron's latest Avatar 2. Beacon Pro says 86,000 people have wanted to see the film so far.

Although the Qingming Festival holiday only lasts for one day this year, new films such as Titanic, Detective Conan: The Dead of Baker Street, and The Super Mario Bros Movie will be released on April 7, as well as Jackie Chan's Spirit of Dragon and Horse, and Chase of the Jedi, which is based on a real-life case of a border guard.

On April 14, Storm, Love Is Delicious and Crocodile Lele, which are aimed at men, women and children, were released. The movie version of Slam Dunk, which will be released a week later, is expected to be the highest-grossing Japanese film ever released in China.

The cumulative box office this year has reached 15.7 billion yuan

April 29, the first half of the most important five first gear open, now the film side no longer choose a month or a week before the release of the "extremely limited file", but early official announced a number of "seed players" : "The King of the sky" "The rescue" "unfamiliar road" "The Prosecutor" "countdown to say love you" "Changsha Nightlife" "New pig pig man movie · Super Race"...... The number of the rich type, quite a standard Spring Festival file posture.

As of March 30, China's cumulative box office in 2023 has reached 15.7 billion yuan, with the number of new films and attendance rate rising significantly. If the box office in April can recover to the pre-epidemic level (4.7 billion yuan in April 2019), the total box office in 2023 is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan around the May Day holiday. The box office is likely to return to 60 billion yuan this year.

----Reported by Dong Ming，Global Times