Top 10 Chinese-Language Films of 2024 (Based on Chinese Internet Data)

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The best way to describe the 2024 Chinese film market is "polarized." The Spring Festival box office reached a record-breaking 80.16 billion yuan. But then the summer and National Day holidays underperformed. It wasn't until the end of the year that a few word-of-mouth hits turned things around.

The total box office for the year was 42.5 billion yuan. Domestic films contributed 33.44 billion yuan, accounting for 78.68% of the total. Total admissions reached 1.01 billion.

Here are the Top 10 Chinese-Language Films of 2024, ranked by a combination of Douban scores, box office data, and online reviews from Chinese platforms.

No. 1: Her Story (好東西)

  • Director: Shao Yihui
  • Cast: Song Jia / Zhong Chuxi / Zhang Yu
  • Genre: Drama / Comedy
  • Douban Score: 9.1
  • Box Office: Approximately 580 million yuan

Verdict: The only Chinese film of 2024 to break the 9-point barrier. The year's critical champion.

Shao Yihui's follow-up to her acclaimed Her Story is a sharp, witty, and deeply moving film about contemporary women's lives and emotions. Song Jia delivered what many consider the best performance of the year. She dominated both film and television in 2024, earning the nickname "the busiest actress of the year."

No. 2: Like A Rolling Stone (出走的決心)

  • Director: Yin Lichuan
  • Cast: Yong Mei / Jiang Wu
  • Genre: Drama
  • Douban Score: 8.8

Verdict: The true story of a 50-year-old woman who leaves home alone, striking a chord with millions.

Based on a true story. A 50-year-old ordinary woman, after enduring decades of a suffocating marriage, finally decides to live for herself. She gets in a car and drives away alone. Yong Mei's performance is restrained and powerful. No dramatic crying. Just quiet, unwavering determination.

No. 3: The Last Dance (破·地獄)

  • Director: Chen Mao-xian
  • Cast: Dayo Wong / Michael Hui
  • Genre: Drama
  • Douban Score: 8.4

Verdict: Broke the record set by A Guilty Conscience to become the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong history.

Two generations of Hong Kong comedy kings join forces — but this is not a comedy. It's a drama about the funeral industry. "Breaking Hell" is a traditional Cantonese ritual for guiding the deceased. But the film's real focus is breaking the hell inside the living. You'll laugh. You'll cry.

No. 4: Time Still Turns the Pages (年少日記)

  • Director: To Yiu-keung
  • Genre: Drama
  • Douban Score: 8.4

Verdict: A Hong Kong gem about growing up, trauma, and self-reconciliation.

A film about family trauma, school bullying, and adolescent mental health. The director tells a heartbreaking story with a gentle, tender touch. Many viewers have said: "If I had seen this film when I was young, maybe things would have been different."

No. 5: I Am What I Am 2 (雄獅少年2)

  • Director: Sun Haipeng
  • Genre: Animation
  • Douban Score: 8.4

Verdict: The technical pinnacle of domestic animation.

The first film was already a phenomenon. The sequel elevates everything. Lion dancing, martial arts, and youthful passion blend perfectly. Every strand of hair looks like it's on fire.

No. 6: The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon (周處除三害)

  • Director: Wong Ching-po
  • Cast: Ruan Jingtian / Wang Jing
  • Genre: Crime / Action
  • Douban Score: 8.1

Verdict: The wildest Chinese-language film of 2024. Ruan Jingtian delivers a career-defining performance.

Based on a classical tale from the Shishuo Xinyu, a wanted criminal decides to eliminate the two men ranked above him — only to realize that he himself is the real "third scourge." Ruan Jingtian won Best Actor at the Taipei Film Awards and earned a Golden Horse nomination.

No. 7: Johnny Keep Walking! (年會不能停！)

  • Director: Dong Runian
  • Cast: Da Peng / Bai Ke / Zhuang Dafei
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Douban Score: 8.1
  • Box Office: 1.06 billion yuan

Verdict: The voice of the overworked employee. The best workplace comedy of the year.

Da Peng plays a factory technician who is mistakenly transferred to headquarters. He ends up exposing corporate corruption at an absurd year-end party. Everyone who has ever survived a corporate job will laugh through tears. It earned over 1 billion yuan, making it the biggest surprise of 2024.

No. 8: Viva La Vida (我們一起搖太陽)

  • Director: Han Yan
  • Cast: Peng Yuchang / Li Gengxi
  • Genre: Drama
  • Douban Score: 8.1

Verdict: The final installment of Han Yan's "Life Trilogy."

Two young people with serious illnesses go from using each other to saving each other. Li Gengxi won Best Actress at the Golden Rooster Awards for this role. No forced sentimentality. Just two people on the edge of death, offering each other a small flower in the darkness.

No. 9: Gold or Shit (走走停停)

  • Director: Long Fei
  • Cast: Hu Ge / Gao Yuanyuan
  • Genre: Drama / Comedy
  • Douban Score: 8.0

Verdict: Forget the success self-help slogans. Life is allowed to wander.

A failed screenwriter returns to his hometown after failing to make it in Beijing. With his mother's encouragement, he starts over. Yue Hong's performance as the mother is unforgettable: "His life may not look very successful. But we all miss him."

No. 10: Old Fox (老狐狸)

  • Director: Hsiao Ya-chuan
  • Genre: Drama
  • Douban Score: 8.1

Verdict: A Taiwanese period drama about kindness and choice.

Set in Taiwan in the late 1980s. A child from a poor family is forced to make choices about his attitude toward life as he confronts the "Old Fox." Cold, restrained, and lingering.

Special Mentions

YOLO (熱辣滾燙) — Douban 7.5, Box Office 3.46 billion yuan. Directed by Jia Ling, the year's box office champion. Some critics say it's just about Jia Ling's dramatic weight loss. But the 850,000 Douban users who gave it a 7.5 suggest that it delivered the emotional value audiences were looking for.

Pegasus 2 (飛馳人生2) — Douban 7.6, Box Office 3.398 billion yuan. Han Han + Shen Teng. Romance and passion for middle-aged men. The racing sequences are pure exhilaration.

Successor (抓娃娃) — Douban 7.0, Box Office 3.327 billion yuan. Shen Teng and Ma Li reunite. A comedy that explores the absurdity of Chinese tiger parenting.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (九龍城寨之圍城) — Douban 7.2. The most exciting Hong Kong action film of 2024. "Is Hong Kong cinema dead?" This film says, "Not yet."

The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru (里斯本丸沉沒) — Douban 9.3. Director Fang Li sold his house to make this documentary about a forgotten piece of WWII history. It scored even higher than Her Story. But due to its niche genre, it didn't make the main list.

Final Thoughts

Looking back at 2024, several clear trends emerge:

The Rise of Women's Storytelling — Her Story and Like A Rolling Stone both landed in the top three. Female directors and female-driven stories are reshaping Chinese cinema.

Hong Kong Cinema Makes a Comeback — The Last Dance, Time Still Turns the Pages, and Twilight of the Warriors all made the list. Three Hong Kong films in one year is a rare phenomenon.

Comedy Carries the Box Office — The top three earners — YOLO, Pegasus 2, and Successor — were all comedies. Together, they earned over 10 billion yuan, nearly a quarter of the year's total box office.

Animation Continues to Shine — I Am What I Am 2 proves that domestic animation is not only catching up to world-class production quality but also finding its own voice in storytelling.

Which 2024 Chinese-language film is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

Tom De · The Movie Prince 🎬

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