Top 10 Chinese-Language Films of 2019 (Based on Chinese Internet Data)

2019 was a watershed year for Chinese cinema. The total box office reached 64.27 billion yuan, with domestic films contributing 41.18 billion yuan — accounting for 64.07% of the total. Five Chinese films entered the all-time top ten box office chart.

But the numbers tell only part of the story. This was the year Chinese sci-fi finally arrived — and the world took notice. The year animation broke every expectation. The year a film about bullying became a social phenomenon. And the year a tiny Taiwanese film about love and grief reminded us that the best stories are often the smallest.

Here are the Top 10 Chinese-Language Films of 2019, ranked by a combination of Douban scores, cultural impact, and artistic achievement.

No. 1: Ne Zha (哪吒之魔童降世)

• Director: 饺子 (Jiaozi)
• Cast: Lv Yanting, Han Mo, Haochen
• Genre: Animation / Fantasy / Action
• Douban Score: 8.5
• Box Office: 5.001 billion yuan

Verdict: The highest-grossing animated film of all time in China. A cultural phenomenon that proved Chinese animation could compete with Hollywood — and win.

The film reimagines the classic Chinese mythological figure Ne Zha as a "demon child" born with a curse that will destroy him in three years. His only hope: to prove he is not what fate has decreed. "I am the master of my own destiny" became the rallying cry of 2019.

The film earned 5 billion yuan at the box office — the second-highest grossing film in Chinese history at the time. It won unanimous praise from experts and audiences alike. But its true achievement was cultural. It showed that Chinese myths, told with modern sensibility and world-class animation, could capture the national imagination.

No. 2: The Wandering Earth (流浪地球)

• Director: Guo Fan (郭帆)
• Cast: Qu Chuxiao, Wu Jing, Li Guangjie, Wu Mengda
• Genre: Sci-Fi / Disaster
• Douban Score: 7.9
• Box Office: 4.68 billion yuan

Verdict: The film that launched Chinese sci-fi. A landmark achievement that proved China could produce visual effects on par with Hollywood.

The film takes place in a future where the sun is dying. Humanity builds massive engines to propel Earth out of the solar system. The mission will take 2,500 years. Along the way, disaster strikes — and a group of young people must save the planet.

The film's tagline — "The road to hope is the only path we have" — captured the national mood. It sparked debate about Chinese values in cinema. Some critics called it nationalist propaganda. Others called it a universal story about human survival. Either way, it changed the conversation about what Chinese cinema could be.

No. 3: Better Days (少年的你)

• Director: Derek Tsang (曾國祥)
• Cast: Zhou Dongyu, Yi Yangqianxi (Jackson Yee)
• Genre: Drama / Crime / Romance
• Douban Score: 8.3
• Box Office: 1.55 billion yuan

Verdict: The most emotionally devastating film of 2019. A raw, unflinching portrait of bullying, trauma, and the desperate love between two damaged teenagers.

A high school student (Zhou Dongyu) is brutally bullied. A young gangster (Yi Yangqianxi) watches over her in secret. What begins as a thriller becomes a meditation on guilt, sacrifice, and the lengths we go to protect those we love.

Zhou Dongyu won Best Actress for her performance — raw, vulnerable, unforgettable. Yi Yangqianxi, in his feature film debut, proved he was more than a pop star. He was a real actor. The film's final scene — a silent exchange between the two leads, faces lit by streetlights — is one of the most beautiful in recent Chinese cinema.

The film sparked national conversations about school bullying in China.

No. 4: My People, My Country (我和我的祖國)

• Directors: Chen Kaige, Zhang Yibai, Guan Hu, Xue Xiaolu, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao, Wen Muye
• Cast: Huang Bo, Zhang Yi, Han Haolin, Du Jiang, Ge You
• Genre: Drama / History
• Douban Score: 7.9
• Box Office: 3.12 billion yuan

Verdict: The highest-grossing anthology film of all time. A national celebration that worked because it told small stories, not big ones.

Seven directors. Seven stories. Seven moments in modern Chinese history — from the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 to the 2015 military parade. But the film's genius was its focus: it ignored the leaders and heroes, telling stories instead about the ordinary people who lived through these moments.

Xu Zheng's segment — a little boy trying to watch the women's volleyball final on a shared TV — is a masterpiece of nostalgia. Ning Hao's segment — a taxi driver who gives his ticket to the 2008 Olympics to a boy from Sichuan — is funny and heartbreaking. Guan Hu's opening segment — a flag-raising engineer trying to perfect the mechanism — is tense and triumphant.

No. 5: So Long, My Son (地久天長)

• Director: Wang Xiaoshuai (王小帥)
• Cast: Wang Jingchun, Yong Mei, Qi Xi, Wang Yuan
• Genre: Drama / Family
• Douban Score: 8.0
• Box Office: Approximately 45 million yuan

Verdict: The winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. A three-hour epic about grief, forgiveness, and the weight of the past.

Two families. One accidental death. Thirty years of silence. The film follows a couple who lose their only son in a drowning accident. They drift away from their friends, their community, their former lives. They adopt a son who runs away. They move to a small coastal town. They wait to die.

Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei both won Best Actor and Best Actress at Berlin — a rare honor for any film. Their performances are exercises in restraint. No crying. No shouting. Just two people slowly, quietly, eroding.

The film is three hours long. It feels like three years — in the best possible way.

No. 6: The Captain (中國機長)

• Director: Andrew Lau (劉偉強)
• Cast: Zhang Hanyu, Ou Hao, Du Jiang, Yuan Quan
• Genre: Action / Drama / Disaster
• Douban Score: 6.7
• Box Office: 2.9 billion yuan

Verdict: A white-knuckle thriller based on a real miracle. The most suspenseful blockbuster of 2019.

On May 14, 2018, Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 lost its cockpit windshield at 32,000 feet. The co-pilot was partially sucked out of the plane. The temperature dropped to minus 40 degrees. The captain, Liu Chuanjian, landed the plane safely with 119 passengers on board. No one died.

The film recreates this miracle with Hollywood-level tension. The opening sequence — a slow, ordinary boarding — makes the terror that follows even more effective. The final landing sequence is almost unbearable to watch.

No. 7: The Farewell (別告訴她)

• Director: Lulu Wang (王子逸)
• Cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen
• Genre: Drama / Comedy
• Douban Score: 7.3
• Awards: Golden Globe for Best Actress (Awkwafina)

Verdict: The year's most authentic Chinese-American film. A story about a family that decides to hide a grandmother's terminal illness — because in China, you don't tell people they are dying.

Billi (Awkwafina) returns from New York to Changchun to visit her grandmother Nai Nai. The family has gathered for a wedding — a cover story. Nai Nai has terminal lung cancer. No one has told her.

The film is funny, sad, and deeply honest about cultural difference. In America, you tell the patient. In China, you bear the burden yourself. Which is more loving? The film refuses to answer.

Lulu Wang based the film on her own family's story. The final scene — a doctor whispering something to Nai Nai, then walking away — is devastating.

No. 8: Wild Goose Lake (南方車站的聚會)

• Director: Diao Yinan (刁亦男)
• Cast: Hu Ge, Gwei Lun-mei, Liao Fan, Wan Qian
• Genre: Crime / Neo-Noir
• Douban Score: 7.4

Verdict: The most stylish Chinese film of 2019. A neon-drenched, rain-soaked noir that announced Hu Ge as a serious actor.

A gangster (Hu Ge) is on the run after killing a police officer. A prostitute (Gwei Lun-mei) agrees to help him — for a price. They meet at a lake resort, stalked by police and rival criminals.

Director Diao Yinan won the Golden Bear at Berlin for his previous film Black Coal, Thin Ice. This is his follow-up. The visual language is extraordinary. The rain. The neon. The long takes. Every frame feels composed.

No. 9: The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (掃毒2：天地對決)

• Director: Herman Yau (邱禮濤)
• Cast: Andy Lau, Louis Koo, Miao Xiaowei, Karena Lam
• Genre: Action / Crime
• Douban Score: 6.3
• Box Office: 1.3 billion yuan

Verdict: The most purely entertaining Hong Kong action film of 2019. Andy Lau vs. Louis Koo — a showdown for the ages.

Andy Lau plays a wealthy businessman who hates drugs. Louis Koo plays Hong Kong's biggest drug dealer. They were once brothers. Now they want each other dead.

The film is pure B-movie pleasure. The action sequences are spectacular — especially the finale, which crashes through a Hong Kong shopping mall.

No. 10: Pegasus (飛馳人生)

• Director: Han Han (韓寒)
• Cast: Shen Teng, Huang Jingyu, Yin Zheng, Yin Fang
• Genre: Comedy / Sports
• Douban Score: 6.9
• Box Office: 1.72 billion yuan

Verdict: A comedy about second chances. Han Han's most mature film yet.

A former racing champion (Shen Teng) now runs a noodle stall. With the help of his mechanic (Yin Zheng), he tries to return to racing — but he has no car, no money, and no team. The film is hilarious, but also surprisingly moving. The final race sequence — a desperate, dangerous drive through the mountains — is breathtaking.

Han Han, a former professional rally driver, directed all the racing sequences himself.

Honorable Mentions

Sheep Without a Shepherd (誤殺) — Douban 7.7. A Chinese remake of the Indian thriller Drishyam. Xiao Yang and Joan Chen face off in a cat-and-mouse game about a father protecting his daughter. One of the year's best thrillers.

The Legend of Hei (羅小黑戰記) — Douban 8.2. A 2D animated film about a cat spirit searching for a new home. Beloved by audiences for its gentle tone and beautiful hand-drawn animation.

White Snake (白蛇：緣起) — Douban 7.9. A prequel to the classic legend, explaining how Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian met. The animation is stunning — the fight sequences, the watercolor backgrounds, the ethereal beauty of the demon world.

Dear Ex (誰先愛上他的) — Douban 8.6. A Taiwanese film about a mother, her son, and the gay lover of her deceased husband. Funny, painful, and deeply human.

Final Thoughts

2019 was the year Chinese cinema grew up.

Animation led the way — Ne Zha proved that Chinese myths, told with modern technique and emotional depth, could compete with any film in the world.

Sci-fi arrived — The Wandering Earth showed that Chinese filmmakers could tackle big ideas with big spectacle.

Genre expanded — From neo-noir (Wild Goose Lake) to B-movie action (The White Storm 2) to arthouse family drama (So Long, My Son), Chinese films covered more territory than ever before.

Young talent emerged — Yi Yangqianxi (19 years old) and Zhou Dongyu (27) delivered career-defining performances in Better Days. They are the future of Chinese cinema.

The industry matured — Eight of the top ten highest-grossing films were domestic productions. For the first time, Chinese audiences chose Chinese stories over Hollywood spectacle.

Which 2019 Chinese-language film stayed with you? Let me know in the comments.

Tom De · The Movie Prince 🎬