Cinema Escapist

Want to know what were the Best Chinese Movies of 2025?

After a long hiatus since 2020, Cinema Escapist’s editors have regrouped to curate this list of top Chinese movies from 2025. In the last few years, the Chinese film market has continued to strengthen, though connections between China’s film industry and Western markets like the United States have cooled given broader geopolitical shifts. 

Nevertheless, Chinese movies are still making splashes at international festivals and seeing global releases both in theaters and on various streaming platforms, so there’s plenty of worthwhile titles to consider even if you’re not Chinese or living in China. As we will see in this list, 2025 was an especially fruitful year for Chinese animated movies; known auteurs like Bi Gan and old stars like Jackie Chan made successful returns to the cinematic scene as well. 

Getting curious about what these best 2025 Chinese movies are? Scroll down, take a look, and learn more! 

If applicable, we’ve also included links to stream some of these Chinese movies on services like Netflix—though exact availability is not guaranteed and will vary based on your location.

•  •  •

11. Gezhi Town

Chinese Title: 得闲谨制 | Director: Kong Sheng | Starring: Xiao Zhan, Peng Yuchang, Zhou Yiran, Yang Xinming | Genre(s): War, Drama

Set during the Second Sino-Japanese war, Gezhi Town was one of the most anticipated Chinese movies of 2025; it marks the theatrical debut of Daylight Entertainment, a production company best known for popular dramas like Nirvana in Fire. Starring top idol Xiao Zhan in its lead role, the film follows a mechanic named Mo Dexian as he leads a remote village in a desperate, wits-based defense against encroaching Japanese soldiers. 

Gezhi Town’s narrative eschews typical blockbuster bombast of China’s Second Sino-Japanese War movies. Instead, it opts for a more grounded blend of dark comedy and tragedy, and feels like a less cynical companion to Jiang Wen’s famous 2000 movie Devils on the Doorstep . With high production values and a fresh, humanist perspective, Gezhi Town offers a tense, character-driven survival story that helped it garner a strong debut at the Chinese box office. 

10. The Stage

Chinese Title: 戏台 | Director: Chen Peisi | Starring: Chen Peisi, Huang Bo, Jiang Wu, Yin Zheng | Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, History

Adapted from the acclaimed eponymous stage play, The Stage is a dark comedy set during China’s chaotic Warlord Era between 1916-28. Directed by and starring comedy legend Chen Peisi alongside heavyweights Huang Bo and Jiang Wu, the film follows a Peking Opera troupe that must navigate a minefield of political instability as part of performing the renowned Peking opera “Farewell My Concubine”. 

Boasting an 8.1 Douban (China’s IMDb/Letterboxd) rating as of this list’s compilation time, The Stage offers biting satire on the friction between artistic integrity and authoritarian power. It offers a poignant, hilarious look at how artists must survive amidst political vagaries, which feels all the more intriguing given Chen Peisi’s own kerfuffles with China’s state broadcasters. Chinese cinema veterans might roughly characterize The Stage as a blend of Let the Bullets Fly and Farewell My Concubine (the 1993 film) for its tone, historical era, and subject matter. 

11. Operation Hadal

Chinese Title: 蛟龙行动 | Director: Dante Lam | Starring: Huang Xuan, Yu Shi, Du Jiang, Jiang Luxia | Genre(s): Action, War

If you’re looking for a bombastic “Main Melody” action movie that showcases contemporary China’s military prowess, Operation Hadal should be required viewing among the films that debuted at China’s 2025 box office. The movie is a sequel to the 2018 Chinese “military intervention epic” Operation Red Sea, but shifts the action from land to an ocean-focused commando unit based on one of China’s advanced submarines. 

Granted, Operation Hadal will probably disappoint you if you’re looking for nuanced storytelling and well-developed storytelling dynamics; it is first and foremost a testosterone-driven, rah-rah movie aimed at celebrating China’s blue water navy aspirations. However, if you are someone who wants to analyze said aspirations, or generally has an interest in films that depict modern warfare, Operation Hadal’s litany of shiny new military hardware and thinly veiled depiction of China’s competition against Western powers are sure to delight. 

9. Sound of Silence

Chinese Title: 震耳欲聋 | Director: Wan Li | Starring: Tan Jianci, Lan Xiya, Wang Ge, Wang Yanhui | Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Thriller

One of 2025’s unexpected hits at the Chinese box office, Sound of Silence is a powerful legal drama highlighting the struggles of China’s hearing-impaired community. The film stars Tan Jianci as Li Qi, a morally ambiguous lawyer and child of deaf adults. Li initially exploits a financial fraud case targeting deaf victims in order to gain money and fame, but begins developing a conscience as he gets deeper into the case. 

Praised for Tan’s nuanced acting and authentic sound design, Sound of Silence exposes the judicial vulnerabilities of those unable to “speak” for themselves. The film evokes the social realism in 2018’s hit movie Dying to Survive, combining courtroom procedural tension with a moving redemption arc. By tackling the systemic isolation faced by the deaf community, Sound of Silence serves as both a polished commercial hit and a significant cultural critique, offering viewers a rare, empathetic lens into a marginalized segment of Chinese society.

8. The Lychee Road

Chinese Title: 长安的荔枝 | Director: Da Peng | Starring: Da Peng, Bai Ke, Zhuang Dafei, Terrance Lau | Genre(s): Comedy, History, Drama

Adapted from an acclaimed novel, The Lychee Road is a high-stakes historical comedy-drama that functions as a biting satire of modern corporate culture. Directed by and starring Da Peng, the film follows Li Shande, a debt-ridden Tang Dynasty mathematician tricked into an impossible task: transporting fresh lychees from southern China to the Tang capital of Chang’an—a 2,000km journey—before they rot. 

While The Lychee Role has period drama-like visuals, the film’s social critiques are quite modern. Li Shande’s role mirrors contemporary China’s younger workers, who feel crushed by impossible KPIs, out-of-touch superiors, and constant pressure for career advancement. The film also offers jabs at pampered, corrupt elites, though those criticisms are leveled in more careful manners. The Lychee Road was one of summer 2025’s top grossing Chinese movies, and it also received multiple nominations for China’s Golden Rooster Awards. 

7. Detective Chinatown 1900

Chinese Title: 唐人街探案1900 | Director: Chen Sicheng | Starring: Wang Baoqiang, Liu Haoran, Chow Yun-Fat, John Cusack | Genre(s): Comedy, Mystery, Action

The latest installment of the highly successful “Detective Chinatown” cinematic universe, Detective Chinatown 1900 follows franchise regulars Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran as they investigate a politically charged murder in 1900s San Francisco, amidst the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act. 

Despite having (or perhaps because it has) some uneven oscillations between slapstick comedy and serious historical tragedy, Detective Chinatown 1900 was one of the highest-earning movies at 2025’s Chinese box office. The movie’s narrative carries heavy nationalistic subtext, using historical American racism as an allegory for modern geopolitical tensions; the film contains implications that the Chinese diaspora is safe only when backed by a powerful China. As such, the movie is not only entertaining, but also an analysis-worthy example of how Chinese blockbusters process historical trauma project the impression of soft power to domestic audiences. 

6. Legend of Hei II

Chinese Title: 罗小黑战记2 | Director: MTJJ (Ping Zhang) | Starring: Youji Wang, Chenyang Fu, Zhenji Huang | Genre(s): Animation, Fantasy, Adventure

The Legend of Hei II is a critically acclaimed animated sequel to 2019’s Legend of Hei, and it significantly deepens the The Legend of Luo Xiaohei franchise’s lore and visual mastery. The story follows a shapeshifting spirit-cat named Xiaohei and his master Wuxian, who join forces with Luye—a troubled former disciple—to uncover a conspiracy framing Wuxian as a traitor to the Spirit Guild.

With a stellar 8.6 Douban rating as of press time, The Legend of Hei II has been lauded as one of the exemplars of Chinese 2D animation, with frequent praise for its fluid, high-octane martial arts action and mature storytelling. Moving beyond simple morality, the movie explores complex themes of coexistence, extremism, and anti-war sentiments within a modernized fantasy setting. Blending the ecological spirituality of Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke with the urban fantasy of Mamoru Hosoda’s The Boy and the Beast, this film offers a deeply emotional, visually stunning experience that cements its place as a masterpiece of the genre.

5. The Shadow’s Edge

Chinese Title: 捕风追影 | Director: Larry Yang | Starring: Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Zhang Zifeng, Ci Sha | Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

In the last decade or so, Jackie Chan has been associated more with wholehearted support of the Chinese government and less with quality film roles. However, Chan provides arguably his best performance in recent memory with The Shadow’s Edge, a gritty action thriller set in Macau. The movie pits Chan—who plays a retired surveillance expert who relies on old-school intuition—against Tony Leung Ka-fai, who plays a criminal mastermind that leverages AI to pull off high-tech heists. 

The Shadow’s Edge abandons Jackie Chan’s often slapstick and clownish style for a more serious and visceral tone, whilst still delivering many high-octane practical stunts. Even with its Macanese setting, the film evokes some of the bygone action craft of Hong Kong’s golden age, whilst incorporating contemporary elements without seeming forced. 

4. Nobody

Chinese Title: 浪浪山小妖怪 | Director: Yu Shui | Starring: Ziping Chen, Wenliang Dong, Yang Lu | Genre(s): Animation, Fantasy, Comedy

As the highest-grossing Chinese 2D animated feature to date, Nobody reimagines the classic Journey to the West as a trenchant workplace satire. Instead of focusing on legendary heroes, the film follows a group of four low-ranking demons who must capture a legendary monk. However, Nobody frames this mythological quest as a corporate nightmare, filled with unrealistic KPIs, micromanagement, and a fear of being eaten (as a metaphor for layoffs). 

Visually, the film is a triumph, blending traditional Chinese ink-wash aesthetics with modern animation. The film’s setting of “Langlang Mountain” has also become a viral metaphor for “involution” (内卷 neijuan) and burnout felt by modern Chinese youth. Hilarious, artistic, and socially conscious, Nobody is essential viewing for anyone seeking to understand the current zeitgeist of Chinese white collar anxiety, through an animated lens. 

3. Resurrection

Chinese Title: 狂野时代 | Director: Bi Gan | Starring: Jackson Yee, Shu Qi, Mark Chao, Li Gengxi | Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Drama

Directed by renowned auteur Bi Gan, Resurrection is a visually stunning sci-fi noir set in a future where humanity has given up its ability to dream in order to achieve immortality. In the film, Jackson Yee of TFBoys fame stars as the Deliriant, one of the few humans who retains his dreams; Taiwanese actress Shu Qi plays the enigmatic “Big Other” who traverses the Deliriant’s subconscious across six distinct eras of film history.

A Cannes 2025 Special Award winner, the film is catnip for cinephiles, with a mesmerizing, atmospheric quality driven by its non-linear narrative and a haunting score by French electronic rock group M83. Despite Bi Gan’s relatively highfalutin style, and Resurrections’s heavy emphasis on artistry, the film actually did quite well at China’s box office by art house standards, grossing US$16.5M on its opening weekend and beating blockbuster foreign imports like the latest Japanese Demon Slayer movie. 

2. Dead to Rights

Chinese Title: 南京照相馆 | Director: Shen Ao | Starring: Liu Haoran, Wang Chuanjun, Gao Ye, Wang Xiao | Genre(s): Drama, History, War

Dead to Rights is a tense 2025 historical thriller set during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. The movie follows a postman named Su Liuchang (played by Liu Haoran) who must pretend to be a skilled photo developer in order to survive after the Japanese occupy Nanjing. Amidst rampant killings, conniving Japanese officers, and Chinese collaborators, Su and other Chinese characters left in Nanjing must find a way to not just survive, but also let the world know about the events happening in their city. 

Released to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, the film became a massive commercial success, and was chosen as China’s official entry for the 98th Academy Awards. While there have been many Chinese-made Nanjing Massacre movies of varying quality and emotional impact, Dead to Rights is one of the strongest members of this subgenre. While it has standard tropes like cameos from Western witnesses to the Nanjing Massacre, and nationalistic shoutouts around Chinese territorial integrity, the movie has well-developed character arcs and tight, suspenseful pacing. 

1. Ne Zha 2

Chinese Title: 哪吒之魔童闹海 | Director: Jiaozi (Yang Yu) | Starring: Lu Yanting, Joseph Cao, Han Mo, Lü Qi | Genre(s): Animation, Fantasy, Action

Ne Zha 2 stands as the undisputed champion of Chinese cinema in 2025, shattering box office records and redefining the limits of not only Chinese but also global animation. This visual masterpiece follows the events of the first Ne Zha movie from 2019, featuring mythological boy-diety Ne Zha and his friend Ao Bing’s struggle against a corrupt celestial bureaucracy. 

What makes it the year’s best film is its perfect synthesis of spectacle and soul. On a technical level, Ne Zha 2 rivals Hollywood’s finest 3D animations with its groundbreaking “dynamic ink” rendering methodology and massive battle sequences. On a thematic level, Ne Zha 2’s spirit of fierce self-determination also resonated deeply with Chinese audiences anxious about societal pressures and conformity. It’s no wonder that Ne Zha 2 became the highest grossing film in the entire world (not just China) in 2025, and even picked up distribution from renowned distributor A24 in the United States.

• • •