China Box Office: ‘The Lychee Road’ Debuts at No. 1 as Local Titles Dominate

China’s box office surged over the July 18–20 weekend, led by a strong showing from local-language titles. “The Lychee Road,” a period drama distributed by Aimmedia Pictures, opened in first place with RMB170.3 million ($23.7 million), according to data from Artisan Gateway.

Including previews, the film has amassed a $31.7 million cumulative total. Directed by Dong Chengpeng and scripted by Si’ao Dai and Yuyue Shen (based on Ma Boyong’s novel), “The Lychee Road” follows petty official Li Shande (Dong Chengpeng) as he embarks on a nearly impossible mission: delivering fresh lychees across 5,000 miles during the Tang Dynasty to appease the imperial court’s demand.

Animated fantasy sequel “The Legend of Hei 2” (Qianwanjian Media) took second place with $14.4 million. Co-directed and co-written by MTJJ (Ping Zhang) and Gu Jie, the sequel follows Luo Xiaohei, a cat spirit who, two years after settling into the human world alongside his mentor Wuxian, faces a renewed conflict at the Spirit Hall and must confront new threats.

Debuting in third place, Dachong Media’s “You Are the Best” earned $7.6 million over the weekend. Its cumulative gross stands at $9.1 million. Directed by and starring Jiang Wen alongside Ma Li, the film follows a young man who leaves home with his father to pursue his musical dream.

Light Chaser Animation’s “Curious Tales of a Temple” ranked fourth with $7.3 million for the frame. Its cumulative total climbed to $20 million. The animated anthology is based on Pu Songling’s classic “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.” The film features six interlinked ghost stories all tied to the mysterious Lanruo Temple, and is co-directed by Cui Yuemei, Liu Yuan, Xie Junwei, Zou Jing, Huang Heyu, and Liu Yilin. The voice cast includes Lu Lifeng, Lin Qiang, Zhang He, and Chen Ziping.

Rounding out the top five, Brad Pitt‘s “F1: The Movie,” from Apple Original Films and Warner Bros., added $5.1 million, bringing its running total to $45.1 million.

The weekend box office totalled $76.1 million, up from last week’s $51.3 million, lifting the 2025 running total to $4.35 billion, a 15.5% gain over the same period in 2024.