The Silk Road: 2 million Russians saw Chinese cinema in 2025
Chinese cinema in Russia in 2025 was watched by more than 2 million viewers. This is already twice as much as the total number for 2024. Most of the tickets sold were for the Russian—Chinese Red Silk project. It was released in Russia in February, and on September 4 it premiered in China, after which it will be released nationally in China on September 6. The film has prospects there, especially since there is a huge demand for the project in the Asian market, experts say.
How "Red Silk" became a hit
"Red Silk" is a rare case when co—production turns out to be productive for both sides. The Russian results are already noticeable, they can be calculated. The film has seriously stimulated the demand for Chinese cinema in our country. Previously, it was more modest, for example, in general, all Chinese projects released in our rental, including co-productions, gathered only about 1 million moviegoers last year.
A shot from the movie "Red Silk"
This year, this figure already exceeds 2 million tickets sold. The flagship of the process is the Russian—Chinese project "Red Silk", a detective action game set in historical scenery, with stars of the first magnitude. From February to May, it attracted 1.47 million viewers in domestic cinemas, which is the result of a lot of work far beyond the set, but also on it. The project is unique, and its fate is also unique.
"The success of the Red Silk was determined not only by color, but also by other factors," Olga Zinyakova, president of the KARO cinema chain, told Izvestia. — For example, the genre is a detective action, recognizable favorite actors in the frame — the star of "The Slave" Milos Bikovic, Elena Podkaminskaya and Gosha Kutsenko, as well as very dynamic and large—scale marketing — the film was advertised very actively. Plus, it's a co-production, not exclusively Chinese content, which also gives the viewer more confidence. While maintaining these introductions, similar projects may have a perspective, and there should be more subtle settings for marketing Chinese content from scratch.
Filming of the movie "Red Silk"
Currently, "Red Silk" is among the top ten highest-grossing films in Russia in 2025 with a box office of 689 million rubles. And among the top five highest-grossing films that were not released during the New Year holidays, which gave a great competitive advantage. Next, the film begins a new life in China: on September 4, the premiere will take place, and on September 6, national distribution in cinemas will begin.
— Of course, this rental and the premiere of the film are timed to coincide with the visit of the President of the Russian Federation to China. There have already been several presentations. The presentation, which was shown on Chinese television, was watched by 100 million viewers," says Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group.
Premiere of the film "Red Silk"
Experts confirm that the film has a lot of chances of success in China.
"It will depend entirely on how much the Chinese side invests in its promotion," says Nina Romodanovskaya, editor—in—chief of the ProfiSinema portal. — Or the Russian one too, if it participates in it. Simply put, it depends on the promo budget. At least the film will collect no worse than, for example, American blockbusters in China. Since this is a co-production, it has more chances than any other Russian film in China. Red Silk is definitely being promoted very widely in Asian markets, just number one. And he should definitely have an interesting fate on Chinese online platforms.
What other Chinese content worked in Russia in 2025
Most of all, Chinese family animation is loved in Russia, it is the main content that is purchased for our cinemas from China. In 2025, Nezha Defeats the Dragon King is the second highest—grossing cartoon in history after Red Silk. It grossed $2.2 billion worldwide and 63 million rubles in Russia. And he brought 171 thousand viewers to the cinemas.
A shot from the cartoon "Nezha defeats the Dragon King"
Also among the hits are family cartoons and films "The Big Feathered Escape", "Leia and the Magic Map", "Escape from the Future", "Kung Fu Cat", "Clubfoot Agent", "Dog from the Future", "How to reform a dragon".
— The results of this type of content are consistently good — there are few breakthroughs, but each of these releases consistently brings tens of millions, and some even hundreds. Which is already forming a big niche," explains Olga Zinyakova.
Chinese genre films are gradually entering the Russian market. For example, this year the crime thriller "Collector of Souls" was on the screens, which collected an impressive $192 million at home. In Russia, his fees are more modest, but viewers go to Chinese cinema for exoticism, strong passions, and clear, clear plots. In addition, these are often budgets comparable to Hollywood's, which means expensive visual effects, lots of action, and the highest technical quality.
A shot from the movie "Collector of Souls"
There are still many Chinese releases waiting for Russian viewers by the end of the year. Among them is "The Little Mermaid. The Beginning of Adventures", it will be released at the end of September and is also destined to be loved by the audience. And there will be more such content.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
