Films from Greater China, Q3 2026: the quarter in review
Editors · 2026-10-06
In the third quarter of 2026, two big summer releases at Chinese theaters each passed 2 billion yuan, and Chinese-language films such as Big Little Things and The House on the Moon were presented at European film festivals in August and September. Box office figures are as of the dates reported.
Kung Fu Soccer — Stephen Chow's No. 1 of the summer season
Released in China on July 11. A women's soccer team on the verge of being disbanded takes on a tournament after training that turns martial arts into soccer skills. Stephen Chow wrote and directed it, and it was billed as a spiritual sequel to Shaolin Soccer. Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba Dilmurat and Zhang Yixing star, with a special appearance by Takeru Satoh.
It passed 100 million yuan within half a day of release and earned 2.315 billion yuan in the June–August summer season alone, finishing No. 1 for the season. It opened in Hong Kong and Macau on August 13.
Kung Fu SoccerView title details →Once Upon a Time in the Middle East — a Chinese restaurant in a Middle East at war
After three days of early screenings from August 8, it officially opened in China on August 11. A Chinese cook (Shen Teng) who went to the Middle East to pay off his debts builds up a Chinese restaurant, the Dragon Restaurant, with his front-of-house manager (Jiang Qiming), but then war engulfs the city. It grew out of the story of a real person who ran a restaurant there during the Iraq War, and was directed by Wen Muye of Dying to Survive.
It passed 2.3 billion yuan at the end of September, making it the year's No. 2 film at the Chinese box office as of early October. It opened in Japan and Hong Kong on September 18.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle EastView title details →Big Little Things — Best Director in Venice's Authors Under 40 and four Golden Horse nominations
It premiered on September 11 in the Orizzonti section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Lei, who lives in Beijing with her girlfriend, brings a fake boyfriend home to her family in Harbin for the Lunar New Year, but things get complicated when her real partner turns up in Harbin. It is director Michelle Zhou's feature debut, expanded from her 2023 short of the same title, and a Hong Kong–U.S. co-production.
In Venice it won Best Director at Authors Under 40, a collateral award for directors under 40, and at the 63rd Golden Horse Awards it is nominated for Best Leading Actress (Liang Cuishan), Best Supporting Actress, Best New Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also invited to the A Window on Asian Cinema section of the Busan International Film Festival.
Big Little ThingsView title details →The House on the Moon — sci-fi wuxia in competition at Locarno
It premiered on August 14 (Taiwan time) in the International Competition of the 79th Locarno Film Festival. In search of the archer Hou Yi, who set out to save a dying sun and vanished, Chang'e heads for the far side of the moon with a bandit who has crash-landed. Made by Singaporean director Nelson Yeo, it is a Singapore–Taiwan–Germany–Indonesia co-production and was the only Chinese-language film in this year's competition. A theatrical release in Taiwan is planned, but no date has been confirmed.
The House on the MoonView title details →Shanghai Daughter — a journey in search of a father's past
Released in China on September 19. A woman from Shanghai travels alone to the rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna where her father was sent down during the Cultural Revolution, and retraces his footsteps. It is the feature debut of director Agnis Shen Zhongmin, who began shooting with crowdfunding, and it premiered in the Panorama section of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. It opened first in Shanghai, then rolled out region by region as the director traveled with it.
Shanghai DaughterView title details →