New Releases and the Pulled Release of Angels in White Mark China’s Film Week

Dragon Media News Desk

The week of November 1–7 brought new Chinese films to cinemas and attention to the cancelled release of Angels in White. Dreaming of the Suvi Daughter Kingdom opened on November 3. Everest: The Other Side and the American animated film The Cat in the Hat opened in China on November 6. The drama We Only Have One Life and crime mystery Heart Maze: Three Crimes followed on November 7.

Angels in White, starring Andy Lau and Yang Zishan, had been scheduled to open on November 6. However, reports said its listings were removed from Chinese ticketing platforms on the release date and tickets were unavailable. Its release date was reportedly moved to 2027 on a film-rating website. The film, about Wuhan during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, had drawn criticism and boycott calls on social media. The production company has not publicly explained the change, so the online reaction cannot be confirmed as the reason for the delay.

China’s official ticketing data platform showed that, as of 5:43 a.m. on November 7, 81 films had recorded box-office revenue, although the day’s figures were incomplete. By then, We Only Have One Life had earned about 3.05 million yuan on its opening day, while Heart Maze: Three Crimes had taken in about 900,000 yuan. Detective: Traces, which had been in cinemas for 38 days, had earned about 679 million yuan in total. These figures were recorded before the day’s screenings had ended.

China’s annual cinema market remained strong. By October 26, box-office revenue for 2026 had exceeded 31.5 billion yuan, with more than 800 million admissions and over 120 million screenings, Chinese media reported. More than 400 films had been released during the year, and Chinese productions accounted for eight of the top 10 films at the box office, according to an industry report.