Chinese-Speaking Markets
Box office across Asia was a mixed bag in 2025. Some territories had record-breaking years, some were middling, others looked like they were sliding towards terminal decline. Many factors influenced results – demographics, ticket price, property and therefore rental and other costs borne by cinemas, and of course the flow of
Southeast Asia
Vietnam's 2025 box office and projects set for release in 2026, along with updates on production companies, film festivals and streaming.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Hong Kong International Film Festival Society has selected 17 In-Development projects for this year’s HAF.
Imported films had a market share of around 20% at the China box office in 2025, with Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire And Ash the highest-grossing foreign films. Below is a list of imported films and co-productions (excluding Hong Kong-China co-productions) that have been dated for China release in 2026,
Vietnam's 2025 box office and projects set for release in 2026, along with updates on production companies, film festivals and streaming.
Dates for film and TV festivals and markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, along with the major film and TV events in Europe and North America. Sundance Film Festival (Park City, US) January 22-February 1 International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands) January 29-February 8 Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)
Part Two of this guide looks at how six international territories are regulating streamers: UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa & Brazil.
The insider view on the content industries of Asia, Africa & the Middle East
Hong Kong and Macau’s box office continued their downwards slide in 2025, with ticket sales coming in at a combined $155m (HK$1.21bn), a decrease of 15% compared to the previous year, according to figures from Hong Kong Box Office. In 2024, Hong Kong’s total box office
Dates for film and TV festivals and markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, along with the major film and TV events in Europe and North America. Sundance Film Festival (Park City, US) January 22-February 1 International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands) January 29-February 8 Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)
China’s box office increased by 22% to reach $7.4bn (RMB51.83bn) in 2025, compared to $5.8bn the previous year, according to figures from China Film Administration. Two animated titles topped the year-end top ten, raking in $2.8bn between them – Lunar New Year hit Ne Zha 2,
Part Two of this guide looks at how six international territories are regulating streamers: UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa & Brazil.
Sigrid Bernardo’s I’m Perfect and Jun Robles Lana’s Call Me Mother were among the major winners at this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (December 25-January 7) in the Philippines. In a heartening win for representation, Krystel Go, an actress with Down’s Syndrome, was awarded Best
It may be a challenging time for the Indian (and global) entertainment landscape – the threat of AI, consolidation, declining theatrical footfalls, lower budgets on streaming, fewer shows getting greenlit (take your pick) – but the Indian streaming landscape continues to offer some of the country’s finest storytelling. Hindi streaming shows,
Zootopia 2 was the highest-grossing import at the China box office in 2025, grossing $627m (as of Feb 2, 2026) and ranking second in the year-end chart.
UPDATED DECEMBER 31: The list below highlights noteworthy Southeast Asian film projects that were completed and premiered at international film festivals in 2025. Nationality of the director is in brackets after their names, but nationality of the projects is harder to determine as most are multi-territory co-productions. AMOEBA Dir: Siyou
Industry execs and filmmakers, including Nigerian director-producer CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi, discussed how African cinema is evolving through collaboration, as well as some of the challenges it faces, on a Souk Talks panel at Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF). Also speaking on the panel were Durban FilmMart (DFM) director Magdalene
Minnesota-based Somali filmmaker Mohammed Sheikh has just held the world premiere for his debut feature, Barni, which he filmed in Djibouti, at Red Sea International Film Festival. Born in the Kebribeyah refugee camp in Ethiopia – where his parents fled during the Somali Civil War – Sheikh moved to the US with
Funded by micro financing platform CARD MRI, the initiative aims to support storytellers from rural and working-class communities.