The afterglow of Ne Zha: Rebirth of the Demon still lingers. With the arrival of the summer movie season, animated films are stirring again. The summer movie season, as a peak period for teenage movie - goers, has always been the stronghold of animated films, and this year is no exception. According to Maoyan Professional Edition data, as of June 20th, 85 movies are expected to be released during the season, among which there are a full 17 animated films. It's another big year for anime.
The anime craze in the film market has lasted for quite a long time. From the fierce competition of animated films in the 2024 summer movie season to the nationwide viewing boom of Ne Zha 2 during the 2025 Spring Festival, animated films have always had a high profile. However, this hustle and bustle is only reflected in the number of films. Or rather, the excitement belongs to Ne Zha 2 alone. The continuous slump in box - office performance is the norm for the animated film market. Facing the situation of 'one super - strong and many weak', can animated films recapture their stronghold this summer?
Animated Films
The clustering of animated films is a common phenomenon in the summer movie season. The anime competition during this period has always been a highlight in the film market in recent years, and 2025 clearly continues this tradition. After sorting out the 17 animated films that have officially announced their summer release dates, it can be found that this summer movie season can be summarized as diverse in types, the return of 2D animation, and the popularity of imported films.
Firstly, besides traditional classic animation IPs, there are more novel themes. Big - Head Son and Small - Head Father, Pi Pilu and Lu Xixi, Detective Conan, and The Smurfs are all well - known classic IPs. Although audiences are willing to pay for the nostalgia, the lack of freshness is a bit of a letdown. Classic IPs have been over - exploited. The animated film market really needs some new content, and this trend can be seen this summer.
Light Chaser Animation has stepped out of the White Snake and New Gods: Yang Jian series to create a new story from Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. Although the IP is classic, adapting it into six different - style chapters shows innovation. Pixar's new masterpiece, Special Earth Force, is a cosmic science - fiction adventure story full of imagination. The new film When Dadao: Evil Gaze, based on the anime that set a record of 9.8 on IMDb's single - episode rating for animated shows, tells a horror adventure story in an underground mysterious space. According to the import information, the 93 - minute film is intact, which has attracted a lot of attention from domestic anime fans.
Secondly, the return of 2D animation has injected fresh blood into the domestic animated film market dominated by 3D. In recent years, 3D animation has developed rapidly, giving birth to many high - box - office blockbusters. The once - glorious 2D animation has become a bit desolate, which has disappointed fans who regard 2D animation as the original intention of Chinese animation. However, 2D animations are making a comeback in theaters this summer.
There's no doubt that 2D animation has better expressiveness, imagination, and aesthetics, carrying the feelings and original intentions of countless audiences and even practitioners. However, the extremely high time and labor costs have made the market shy away. When the first film of The Legend of Hei was released in 2019, director Mu Tou revealed that each second of the film required 12 original paintings, and a 100 - minute film needed more than 70,000 original paintings. The production cycle was as long as five years, and the second film took another six years. The increase in cost corresponds to a significant increase in market risk, which is the fundamental reason for the gradual decline of 2D animation. But the return of 2D animation this summer and the improving creative environment in the Chinese animation market, with some creators still adhering to their original intentions, is undoubtedly a pleasant phenomenon for audiences.
Looking at the 2025 summer movie season, the themes and presentation forms of animated films are more diverse, and audiences have a wider range of choices. Currently, the most anticipated films are Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio: Lanruo Temple, The Legend of Hei 2, and Special Earth Force. Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio: Lanruo Temple comes from a leading Chinese animation brand. Light Chaser Animation has cultivated a group of regular audiences through many high - quality animated films. Coupled with the high public awareness of the classic IP, there will surely be audiences going to the cinema to check it out.
Can Animated Films Recapture What Belongs to Them?
As 2025 is almost halfway through, there are only 5 animated films with a box - office of over 100 million yuan. The great success of Ne Zha: Rebirth of the Demon has given the outside world the illusion of the rise of animated films. In fact, the market performance of animated films this year can hardly be described as good. Ne Zha has really muddled the waters.
The Bear and the Whale series of big - screen movies, which has been showing a steady upward trend, had a box - office of 821 million yuan during the 2025 Spring Festival. It seems like a decent result, but it's 1 billion yuan less than that in the 2024 Spring Festival. The gap is quite large. Except for The Bear and the Whale: Back to the Future, the other three animated films with a box - office of over 100 million yuan are all in the 100 - million - yuan range. The much - anticipated Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki during the May Day holiday only had a box - office of 111 million yuan.
In fact, it was more like an unexpected surprise that Ne Zha 2 broke the box - office ceiling as an animated film. The general situation of the animated film market is not optimistic. Maybe it's due to the increasingly sluggish film market, but it can't be denied that the appeal of animated films is weakening.
Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio: Lanruo Temple still has to face the problem of IP content. The animated film A Chinese Ghost Story released by Enlight Media in 2024, which was also adapted from the Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio IP, had a dismal box - office. The public awareness of the 'Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio' IP is very high, and the story of 'Nie Xiaoqian' has been adapted countless times. It has enough classics but lacks freshness. The advantages and disadvantages of traditional IPs are an eternal topic for Chinese animation.
The key to solving these 'problem points' lies in the content quality. The spread of a film's word - of - mouth can solve most problems. Whether there will be a blockbuster or a dark - horse to help animated films recapture their stronghold in the summer movie season, we'll just have to wait and see. Overall, the future of animated films in the summer movie season is uncertain, but with potential for positive change if content quality improves.
