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China's Spring Festival Box Office Falls 60% — No Ne Zha 2, No Zhang Yimou Hit to Save 2026 — episode cover art
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China's Spring Festival Box Office Falls 60% — No Ne Zha 2, No Zhang Yimou Hit to Save 2026

About this story

China's 2026 Lunar New Year presales fall 60% — no Ne Zha 2, no Zhang Yimou, Jet Li or Jackie Chan to save it. HSK 3 Chinese listening practice.

This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 16 key vocabulary words such as 习惯、成绩、理想 and walks through 5 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.

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原文

Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.

今年春节电影市场一个消息很多感到非常吃惊
我们知道春节中国人重要节日
春节放假时候家人朋友一起去电影已经成了很多人的习惯
几年春节期间电影票房一直都很高
但是今年情况好像发生一些很大变化
根据最新数据今年春节电影成绩不太理想
什么
简单来说就是电影没有正式上映之前观众
这个数据非常重要
因为可以告诉我们大家这些电影没有兴趣
如果卖得说明大家都很想看
如果卖得不好说明大家可能不太想去电影
现在数据显示今年春节售票只有亿人民左右
可能觉得亿一个很大数字
但是如果我们去年比一比发现问题
去年这个时候售票已经达到亿
也就是说今年去年少了整整亿
下降幅度超过百分六十
一个非常严重下降
很多电影生意比如投资电影经理现在都很担心
他们都在一个问题为什么大家
这里面有很多复杂原因
首先我们看看去年情况
去年之所以成绩那么因为一部特别厉害电影
电影2
它是一部动画但是非常非常受欢迎
不管是大人还是小孩喜欢电影
打破很多记录吸引无数观众走进电影
一部电影赚了十八亿
占了去年春节票房很大一部分
甚至可以去年成绩主要是因为一部电影
但是今年
专家分析今年没有2这么厉害电影
虽然今年上映电影不少但是没有一部2那样引起轰动
好像参加一个聚会
如果有一个超级明星大家都会想去
如果明星不在可能少了很多
一位电影制片超过与其成绩必须要有奇迹发生
那么今年到底有哪些电影
其实今年电影种类还是非常丰富
而且全部都是中国自己拍的电影
各种各样类型适合不同
比如导演电影
一部关于国家安全电影故事紧张
还有传统功夫也就是武侠电影
这里面有很多非常有名演员
比如成龙还有
除此之外还有关于赛车喜剧电影
当然为了照顾小朋友还有出没这样动画
看起来选择很多演员阵容强大
但是问题这里
虽然这些演员很有但是他们能不能吸引现在年轻
一个很大问题
现在电影市场主要观众年轻
也就是我们说的95或者00
这些年轻人的口味以前观众一样
专家指出传统功夫年轻人的吸引力下降
而且今年春节电影主要导演演员年纪比较
很多都是四十以上甚至七十
就在电影观众之间产生一种代沟
年轻可能觉得这些电影不够新鲜不够
他们想要符合他们生活电影
如果电影不能年轻感兴趣票房
除了电影本身原因还有一个外部原因
就是今年假期安排
今年春节假期非常共有九天
历史最长一个春节假期
可能假期大家不是更有时间电影
其实情况可能正好相反
因为假期很多不仅仅是回家过年
他们选择旅游
别的城市或者风景好的地方
如果大家都去旅游电影时间会变
旅游需要很多
如果机票酒店可能就不舍得电影
所以假期电影行业来说既是机会也是挑战
虽然现在成绩不太好但是我们也不悲观
我们看到中国电影市场其实正在恢复
去年票房前年增加百分之二十二
总共有五百多亿人民
一张不错成绩
虽然没有完全回到几年最好的水平但是这个过程
现在市场大约恢复到了2019八成左右
为了帮助电影市场政府也在办法
很多地方政府推出政策
比如湖北省政府决定老百姓福利
他们计划今年几千电影消费
简单来说就是政府一部分电影
这样电影价格变低
如果你想电影这个便宜很多
政府希望通过这种方法鼓励大家电影
毕竟如果很多选择家里电视
如果便宜大家愿意出门
电影观众来说都是一件好事
总的来说今年春节电影市场面临不小压力
一方面因为去年成绩太好了超越
另一方面因为电影内容年轻人的喜好可能不太一样
加上大家想去旅游分流一部分观众
但是电影市场总是充满了变化
也许电影正式上映一部黑马出现
什么黑马
就是大家本来看好但是最后非常成功电影
口碑非常重要
如果一批观众看了觉得他们网上告诉别人
这样越来越人去
所以现在数据虽然不是最后结果
我们等到春节真正开始看看大家反应
也许有些电影虽然没有明星但是故事特别
这样电影往往观众带来惊喜
对于喜欢电影来说这个春节还是很多选择
无论你是喜欢紧张故事还是喜欢轻松喜剧都能找到适合自己
只要电影质量大家还是愿意花钱支持
就是市场规律
好的产品总会有人喜欢
我们希望今年春节我们带来一些一样感动快乐
English transcript reference

Speaking of this year's Spring Festival movie market, there is news that has made many people feel very surprised.

We all know that the Spring Festival is the most important festival for Chinese people.

During the Spring Festival holiday, going to watch movies with family and friends has already become a habit for many people.

In recent years, movie box office earnings during the Spring Festival have always been very high.

However, the situation this year seems to have undergone some major changes.

According to the latest data, the "pre-sale" results for this year's Spring Festival movies are not very ideal.

What are pre-sales?

Simply put, it is when the audience buys tickets before the movie is officially released.

This data is very important.

Because it can tell us whether everyone is interested in these movies.

If pre-sale tickets sell well, it shows that everyone really wants to watch.

If they don't sell well, it shows that everyone might not really want to go to the cinema.

Current data shows that the pre-sale box office for this year's Spring Festival season is only around 200 million RMB.

You might think that 200 million is a very large number.

However, if we compare it with last year, we will discover the problem.

At this time last year, pre-sale box office had already reached 600 million yuan.

That is to say, this year is a full 400 million yuan less than last year.

The magnitude of the decline exceeds sixty percent.

This is a very serious decline.

Many people in the movie business, such as investors and cinema managers, are very worried right now.

They are all asking one question: Why isn't everyone buying tickets anymore?

There are many complex reasons involved here.

First, we need to look at last year's situation.

The reason the results were so good last year was because there was a particularly amazing movie.

This movie is called "Ne Zha 2".

It is an animated film, but it was very, very popular.

Whether adults or children, everyone liked watching this movie.

It broke many records and attracted countless viewers into the cinemas.

This one movie alone earned 4.8 billion yuan.

It accounted for a large portion of last year's total Spring Festival box office.

One could even say that last year's good results were mainly due to this one movie.

But what about this year?

Experts analyze that this year there is no movie as amazing as "Ne Zha 2".

Although there are quite a few movies being released this year, none can cause a sensation like "Ne Zha 2".

This is just like going to a party.

If there is a super superstar there, everyone will want to go.

If the superstar isn't there, the number of people going might be much fewer.

A movie producer said that to surpass last year's results, a miracle must happen.

So, what movies are there this year exactly?

Actually, the variety of movies this year is still very rich.

And they are all movies made by China itself.

There are all kinds of genres, suitable for different people to watch.

For example, there is a new movie directed by Zhang Yimou.

This is a movie about national security, and the story is very tense.

There are also traditional Kung Fu movies, which are martial arts movies.

There are many very famous actors in them.

Such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Nicholas Tse.

Besides that, there are also comedy movies about car racing.

Of course, to cater to children, there are also animated films like "Boonie Bears".

It looks like there are many choices and the lineup of actors is very strong.

However, the problem lies right here.

Although these actors are famous, can they attract today's young people?

This is a big question.

In the current movie market, the main audience is young people.

That is what we often call the "post-95s" or "post-00s".

The tastes of these young people are different from audiences in the past.

Experts point out that the appeal of traditional Kung Fu movies to young people is declining.

Moreover, the main directors and actors of this year's Spring Festival movies are relatively old.

Many are over forty, or even sixty or seventy years old.

This creates a kind of "generation gap" between the movies and the audience.

Young people might feel these movies aren't fresh enough or cool enough.

They want to watch movies that are more relevant to their lives.

If movies cannot interest young people, it is difficult for the box office to go high.

Besides reasons related to the movies themselves, there is also an external reason.

That is this year's holiday schedule.

This year's Spring Festival holiday is very long, totaling nine days.

This is the longest Spring Festival holiday in history.

You might think, with a longer holiday, wouldn't everyone have more time to watch movies?

Actually, the situation might be exactly the opposite.

Because the holiday is long, many people are not just going home for the New Year.

They will choose to go traveling.

To go to other cities, or go to places with good scenery to have fun.

If everyone goes traveling, the time and money spent on watching movies will decrease.

Traveling requires spending a lot of money.

If the money is all spent on buying plane tickets and staying in hotels, they might not be willing to buy movie tickets.

Therefore, for the film industry, a long holiday is both an opportunity and a challenge.

Although the current pre-sale results are not very good, we don't need to be too pessimistic.

We must see that China's movie market is actually recovering.

Last year's total box office increased by 22 percent compared to the year before.

It totaled more than 50 billion RMB.

This is a pretty good report card.

Although it hasn't completely returned to the best level of a few years ago, it is in the process.

The current market has recovered to about 80 percent of 2019 levels.

To help the movie market, the government is also thinking of solutions.

Governments in many places have launched good policies.

For example, in Hubei Province, the government decided to distribute benefits to the common people.

They plan to issue tens of millions of yuan in "movie consumption vouchers" this year.

Simply put, the government helps you pay for part of the movie ticket.

This way, the price of movie tickets becomes lower.

If you want to watch a movie, using this voucher will make it much cheaper.

The government hopes to encourage everyone to go to the cinema more often through this method.

After all, if the ticket price is too expensive, many people will choose to watch TV at home.

If the ticket price is cheaper, everyone will be willing to go out.

This is a good thing for both cinemas and the audience.

In general, the movie market this Spring Festival is facing considerable pressure.

On one hand, it's because last year's results were too good and are difficult to surpass.

On the other hand, it is because the content of the movies and the preferences of young people might not be quite the same.

Plus, everyone wants to travel more, diverting some of the audience.

However, the movie market is always full of changes.

Perhaps after the movies are officially released, a "dark horse" will appear.

What is a "dark horse"?

It is a movie that everyone didn't think highly of at first, but ended up being very successful.

Word of mouth is very important.

If the first batch of viewers watch it and think it's good, they will tell others online.

This way, more and more people will buy tickets.

So, although current pre-sale data is low, it is not the final result.

We have to wait until the Spring Festival truly begins to see everyone's reaction.

Maybe some movies, although they don't have big stars, tell a particularly good story.

Movies like this can often bring surprises to the audience.

For those who like movies, there are still many choices this Spring Festival.

Whether you like tense stories or relaxing comedies, you can find something suitable for yourself.

As long as the quality of the movie is good, everyone will still be willing to spend money to support it.

This is the law of the market.

Good products will always be liked by someone.

We also hope that this year's Spring Festival season can bring us some different kinds of emotion and happiness.

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
xíguànhabit / to be used to

Something you do regularly or the state of being accustomed to something.

chéngjìresult / achievement / grade

Used for school grades or performance results in business/sports.

lǐxiǎngideal

Perfect or satisfying; can also mean 'dream/aspiration'.

yánzhòngserious / grave

Used to describe negative situations, illnesses, or problems.

fēngfùrich / abundant

Describing variety, resources, or experience.

gǔlìto encourage

To give support, confidence, or hope to someone.

guānzhòngaudience

HSK 1-3. audience.

chéngshìcity

HSK 1-3. city.

piàofángbox office

Refers to the total revenue generated by ticket sales for a movie.

yùshòupre-sale

Selling tickets or goods before they are officially available or released.

shàngyìngto screen / to release (a movie)

Specifically used for movies starting to show in theaters.

fúdùrange / scope / extent

Often used with rising or falling statistics to describe the size of the change.

hōngdòngsensation / stir

Causing a great excitement or commotion among the public.

dàigōugeneration gap

Differences of outlook or opinion between people of different generations.

bēiguānpessimistic

Tending to see the worst aspect of things; opposite of 乐观 (lèguān).

xiāofèiquànconsumption voucher / coupon

Vouchers issued (often by government) to stimulate spending.

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法
也就是说

Meaning 'that is to say' or 'in other words'. It connects a previous statement with a clarification or conclusion.

也就是说,今年比去年少了整整四亿元。

之所以……是因为……

A structure meaning 'the reason why... is because...'. It emphasizes the cause of a specific result.

去年之所以成绩那么好,是因为有一部特别厉害的电影。

不管是……还是……,都……

Meaning 'no matter if it is A or B, [result] is the same'. It indicates that the condition does not affect the outcome.

不管是大人还是小孩,都喜欢看这部电影。

既是……也是……

Meaning 'both... and...'. Used to describe two qualities or roles existing simultaneously.

所以,长假期对电影行业来说,既是机会也是挑战。

只要……就……

Meaning 'as long as... then...'. It introduces a sufficient condition for a result.

只要电影的质量好,大家还是会愿意花钱支持的。

Proper Nouns

专有名词
春节ChūnjiéSpring Festival / Chinese New Year哪吒2Nézhā ÈrNe Zha 2 (Movie title)张艺谋Zhāng YìmóuZhang Yimou (Director)李连杰Lǐ LiánjiéJet Li成龙Chéng LóngJackie Chan谢霆锋Xiè TíngfēngNicholas Tse熊出没Xióng ChūmòBoonie Bears (Animation franchise)湖北省Húběi ShěngHubei Province人民币RénmínbìRMB (Chinese currency)

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