필사 모드: Chinese-Language Film and Drama Roundup 2025-2026 — Three Different Report Cards From the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

• Introduction — Not One Market, But Three
• Mainland — The Spring Festival Decides the Year
  • 哪吒之魔童闹海 — Ne Zha 2 · Mainland
  • 飞驰人生3 — Pegasus 3 · Mainland
  • 惊蛰无声 · Mainland
  • 镖人：风起大漠 · Mainland
  • 给阿嬷的情书 — Dear You · Mainland
• Hong Kong — The Paradox a Shrinking Market Made
  • 再見UFO — Ciao UFO · Hong Kong
  • 風林火山 — Sons of the Neon Night · Hong Kong
  • 捕風追影 — The Shadow's Edge · Hong Kong-mainland co-production
  • 眾生相 — Queerpanorama · Hong Kong
• Taiwan — A Presence Built by Festivals
  • 大濛 — A Foggy Tale · Taiwan
  • 左撇子女孩 — Left-Handed Girl · Taiwan
  • 女孩 — Girl · Taiwan
• Drama — The Mainland's Scale and Taiwan's Density
  • 藏海传 · Mainland
  • 生万物 · Mainland
  • 沉默的荣耀 · Mainland
  • 生命树 · Mainland
  • 星空下的黑潮島嶼 · Taiwan
• The List at a Glance
• Closing — The Big Market Got More Certain of Itself, and the Small Markets Got Sharper

Introduction — Not One Market, But Three

Lump Chinese-language film together as a single bloc and you're almost always wrong. That was especially clear across 2025 and the first half of 2026.

In the mainland, a single animated film grossed $2.267 billion worldwide, the highest total ever for an animated feature. In the same stretch, in Hong Kong, a big-budget production made on a $50 million budget earned just $13.4 million, while a low-budget film finished in 2019 that had gone six years without a release won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards. In Taiwan, a film about the White Terror during martial law won Best Feature Film at the Golden Horse Awards.

Same language, but the size of the market, the reasons films get made, and even the definition of success all differ. This piece sorts 17 titles into mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Where the way to watch is confirmed, it's noted; only the premise of each is introduced, not the turns of the story.

Mainland — The Spring Festival Decides the Year

Mainland Chinese box office is effectively decided within the two-week window of the Lunar New Year. That held true in both 2025 and 2026.

哪吒之魔童闹海 — Ne Zha 2 · Mainland

January 2025 · Directed and written by Jiaozi (real name Yang Yu) — Wikipedia

A direct sequel to 2019's Ne Zha, based on the Nezha legend from the Ming-dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods. It opened nationwide across China on January 29, 2025, the first day of the Lunar New Year. It earned 15.446 billion yuan in mainland China alone, becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese film history, and $2.267 billion worldwide, the highest-grossing animated film ever and the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time. It was also the first Asian film to crack the global top 10 all-time box office list. A large share of mainland China's total annual box office of 51.832 billion yuan for 2025 came from this single film.

Who'll love it — Audiences who want to see Chinese mythology visualized with large-scale action animation. Who won't — Viewers who haven't seen the first film and don't plan to follow the world-building setup.

飞驰人生3 — Pegasus 3 · Mainland

February 2026 · Directed and written by Han Han · Starring Shen Teng, Yin Zheng, Huang Jingyu — Wikipedia

The third and final entry in a comedy series about racing drivers, released February 17, 2026, for the Lunar New Year. It was the top mainland Chinese box office earner of the first half of 2026, grossing 4.42 billion yuan. Novelist-turned-director Han Han directing his own screenplay has been the constant across this entire series.

Who'll love it — Audiences who've seen the first two entries, and anyone looking for a sports comedy with a clear emotional throughline. Who won't — Viewers already tired of the series repeating itself.

惊蛰无声 · Mainland

February 2026 · Directed by Zhang Yimou · Starring Yi Yangqianxi, Zhu Yilong, Song Jia — Wikipedia

The mainland's first feature film centered on national security, made with the involvement of China's Ministry of State Security. Released February 17, 2026, for the Lunar New Year, it earned 867 million yuan during the holiday window alone, placing second for the season, and ranked among the top box office earners of the first half. Both the fact that director Zhang Yimou returned to the espionage genre, and the fact that a state agency was directly involved in guiding the project, were widely discussed together.

Who'll love it — Audiences who want to see Zhang Yimou's visual style combined with a large-scale espionage story. Who won't — Viewers who find it hard to trust the perspective of a film a state agency was directly involved in making.

镖人：风起大漠 · Mainland

February 2026 · Directed by Yuen Woo-ping · Starring Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse, Yu Shi, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Max Zhang, Kara Hui — Wikipedia

Based on Xu Xianzhe's wuxia manhua Biao Ren. Action choreographer-turned-director Yuen Woo-ping helmed it, Wu Jing doubled as producer, and a large contingent of Hong Kong actors joined the cast. It opened simultaneously on February 17, 2026, in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States. By March 29 it had passed $214 million worldwide, breaking the global box office record for a wuxia film previously held by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and as of May 20 its total of 1.448 billion yuan ranked second for the year in 2026.

Who'll love it — Audiences who enjoy classic wuxia choreography and a stacked cast. Who won't — Readers who feel the density of the source manhua got flattened in the transition to a big commercial film.

给阿嬷的情书 — Dear You · Mainland

April 2026 · Directed and written by Lan Hongchun · Starring Li Sitong, Wang Yantong — Wikipedia

The most unexpected box office success on this list. Made in the Teochew dialect of the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, with most of the leads played by non-professional actors. The director spent an extended period reporting on location to capture the actual look of the ancestral hometown for the region's diaspora community. It opened in select regions on April 30, 2026, expanded nationwide on May 3, and scored 9.0 on Douban, the highest rating of the year, while grossing 1.927 billion yuan — the second-highest box office total of the first half.

The long-held conventional wisdom was that dialect films are commercially disadvantaged because of their narrow distribution reach. This film pushed back directly against that assumption.

Who'll love it — Audiences who like films that combine a strong sense of place with a generational story. Who won't — Viewers who find direct, unguarded emotional filmmaking hard to sit with.

Hong Kong — The Paradox a Shrinking Market Made

The scale of Hong Kong's film industry has kept shrinking. But the results at the 2026 Hong Kong Film Awards show that shrinkage hasn't necessarily meant a decline in quality. The ceremony was held April 19, 2026, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

再見UFO — Ciao UFO · Hong Kong

Preview screenings December 2025, wide release March 2026 · Directed by Leung Pak-kin · Starring Choi Cheuk-yan, Wong Yau-nam — Wikipedia

Childhood friends from Wah Fu Estate, tied together by the memory of watching a UFO together in 1985, confront lives that turned out differently from what they expected once they've grown up. This film's own history reflects the current state of Hong Kong's film industry. It first screened at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival in 2019, but investors wouldn't approve a theatrical release, leaving it stuck for more than six years until preview screenings in December 2025 finally led to a proper release on March 19, 2026.

At the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards it won 5 categories including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. It was also named the best Hong Kong film of 2025 by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.

Who'll love it — Audiences who like films that examine the place time has passed through, without a big event driving the plot. Who won't — Viewers who expect action and crime genre elements from Hong Kong cinema.

風林火山 — Sons of the Neon Night · Hong Kong

October 2025 · Directed and written by Juno Mak · Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Lau Ching-wan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Louis Koo, Gao Yuanyuan — Wikipedia

A crime thriller set against a snowy Hong Kong night, where a drug syndicate, hired killers, and the police all get tangled together. Its budget is reported at around $50 million, but it earned just $13.4 million at the box office. It led the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards with 12 nominations, the most of any film, and swept 7 technical categories: cinematography, production design, sound, editing, visual effects, music, and costume and makeup design. It did not win Best Film or Best Director.

The result of a big-budget Hong Kong noir sweeping only the technical categories says a lot about what Hong Kong film is currently good at, and where it struggles.

Who'll love it — Audiences who watch for the visual style of Hong Kong noir and the cast lineup as ends in themselves. Who won't — Viewers who feel the story is loose relative to the style.

捕風追影 — The Shadow's Edge · Hong Kong-mainland co-production

September 2025 · Directed by Larry Yang · Starring Jackie Chan, Zhang Zifeng, Tony Leung Ka-fai — Wikipedia

An action crime film in which the Macau police bring a retired tracking specialist back to hunt a professional theft ring. Jackie Chan plays the retired surveillance expert, while Tony Leung Ka-fai plays the ruthless head of the crime syndicate. Tony Leung Ka-fai won Best Actor at the 44th Hong Kong Film Awards for the role — his fifth win in the category. It opened in Hong Kong on September 11, 2025.

Who'll love it — Audiences who trust the structure of a well-made commercial crime thriller. Who won't — Viewers bothered by the emotional compromises visible in a Hong Kong-mainland co-production.

眾生相 — Queerpanorama · Hong Kong

Premiered at Berlin, February 2025 · Directed and written by Zhao Jun — Berlinale program

Set in Hong Kong, the film follows a man who carries the persona of whoever he last slept with into his next encounter. Its starting premise is the paradox that he can only be himself while pretending to be someone else. It had its world premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, 2025, and director Zhao Jun won Best New Director at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards for it. In the vote for Best Feature Film, it lost to A Foggy Tale, 8 to 7.

Who'll love it — Audiences who want formal experimentation alongside a queer narrative. Who won't — Viewers who want a character's motivations spelled out explicitly.

Taiwan — A Presence Built by Festivals

Taiwanese cinema's 2025 was built at international festivals. The 62nd Golden Horse Awards were held November 22, 2025, at the Taipei Music Center.

大濛 — A Foggy Tale · Taiwan

November 2025 · Directed by Chen Yu-hsun — Wikipedia

In 1954, a fifteen-year-old girl living in the countryside heads north alone after hearing news of her brother's execution — to find her sister and identify the body together. A period piece that confronts the White Terror during martial law head-on, one of the hardest periods in modern Taiwanese history, told through a girl's journey. It led the 62nd Golden Horse Awards with 11 nominations, the most of any film, and won 4, including Best Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume and Makeup Design.

Who'll love it — Audiences looking for a film that handles historical violence without raising its voice. Who won't — Viewers who feel it's hard to follow the emotional weight without context on modern Taiwanese history.

左撇子女孩 — Left-Handed Girl · Taiwan

2025 · Directed and written by Tsou Shih-Ching · Starring Cai Zai, Ma Sih-Yuan, Yeh Tzu-Hsin — Wikipedia

The story of a single mother and her two daughters returning from the countryside to a Taipei night market. Three women each adapt to the city in their own way, and the night market itself, as a setting, dictates the characters' schedules. It had its world premiere at Cannes Critics' Week on May 15, 2025, and Taiwan selected it as its submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards.

Who'll love it — Audiences who like a story built out of the details of daily life. Who won't — Viewers who want a clear inciting event and resolution.

女孩 — Girl · Taiwan

October 2025 · Directed and written by Shu Qi · Starring Bai Xiao-Ying, Roy Chiu — Wikipedia

Set in Keelung Harbor in 1988, a coming-of-age drama about a girl who wants to escape a dark home, and who first learns the world has color in it after meeting another girl who lives unbothered by other people's opinions. It's actress Shu Qi's directorial debut, and it partly reflects her own childhood. It had its world premiere in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2025, competing for the Golden Lion, and won Best Director at the Busan International Film Festival. It opened in Taiwan on October 31.

Shu Qi has said many times that without director Hou Hsiao-hsien, this film wouldn't exist either.

Who'll love it — Audiences who want to see the honesty of an actor's first work as a director. Who won't — Viewers who don't want to revisit the familiar structure of a coming-of-age drama.

Drama — The Mainland's Scale and Taiwan's Density

The gap between the two markets is even sharper on the series side. Mainland ratings and view counts operate on a completely different scale, while Taiwan runs shorter series with more specific subject matter.

藏海传 · Mainland

May 2025 · Chief director Zheng Xiaolong · Starring Xiao Zhan, Jiang Jingyi · 40 episodes — Douban

A period drama in which the son of a court astronomy official, wiped out along with his family, returns to the capital ten years later under a new name and uses architecture and diplomatic strategy to fight back against conspiracies at court. It premiered on CCTV-8 on May 18, 2025, and was also released internationally on Hong Kong's TVB Jade and the streaming services Viu and Disney+. Combined domestic and international streams passed 2 billion, making it the top period drama of 2025. Its Douban rating sits at 7.1, not especially high relative to its viewership.

Who'll love it — Viewers who enjoy the structure of a revenge drama in a period setting along with elaborate production design. Who won't — Viewers who find it hard to sit through the repetitive plotting needed to fill 40 episodes.

生万物 · Mainland

August 2025 · Starring Yang Mi, Ou Hao · Aired on CCTV-8 — Wikipedia

A period drama following three generations against the backdrop of changing land ownership in a rural community in southern Shandong. It premiered in the primetime slot on CCTV-8 on August 13, 2025, and peaked above a 4 percent rating, setting a record high for CCTV-8 that year. It was the first drama series of 2025 to pass 100 million valid daily streams, and its total of 1.752 billion streams ranked among the top for the year.

Who'll love it — Viewers who like the pacing of a traditional multi-generational chronicle drama. Who won't — Viewers weary of the conventional character arrangements typical of rural period dramas.

沉默的荣耀 · Mainland

September 2025 · Directed by Yang Yazhou · Starring Yu Hewei, Wu Yue, Wei Chen — Wikipedia

An espionage drama based on real figures active in Taiwan around 1949. It premiered on CCTV-8 on September 30, 2025, releasing simultaneously on iQIYI and MGTV. It scored 8.0 on Douban, one of only eight mainland dramas of 2025 to cross the 8-point mark. It's a clearly commissioned project marking the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Who'll love it — Viewers looking for the density of an espionage drama grounded in real historical figures. Who won't — Viewers who find it hard to keep some distance from a work premised on a state-sanctioned narrative.

生命树 · Mainland

January 2026 · Directed by Li Xue · Starring Yang Zi, Hu Ge, Li Guangjie · 40 episodes — Wikipedia

Set in a fictional county in Qinghai in 1996, it follows a policewoman who joins a patrol unit and a deputy county chief as they crack down on poaching and illegal mining and work to establish a nature reserve. The material is drawn from a real incident. It premiered simultaneously on CCTV-8's primetime slot and iQIYI on January 30, 2026, hitting a peak live rating of 2.39 percent on its premiere day — the highest of any channel in that time slot — and became one of only six shows to cross an 8-point Douban rating in the first half of 2026.

Who'll love it — Viewers who want a workplace drama built on real material paired with nature-documentary-style visuals. Who won't — Viewers fatigued by 40-episode social-commissioned dramas of this scale.

星空下的黑潮島嶼 · Taiwan

2025 · Produced by Hakka TV · Miniseries — Wikipedia

A miniseries from Taiwan's Hakka TV, including dialogue in Hakka. At the 60th Golden Bell Awards, held October 18, 2025, it received 16 nominations and won 6, the most wins of any show that year. Before it aired, though, a January 2025 Legislative Yuan budget review raised questions about whether the show adequately represented Hakka culture, and that dispute affected how the show was received.

It's an example of Taiwanese drama moving toward greater density by narrowing its episode counts and its subject matter, rather than trying to scale up.

Who'll love it — Viewers interested in dramas centered on minority languages and regional identity. Who won't — Viewers who find it hard to get into without context on Taiwanese society.

The List at a Glance

How to watch most of these in Korea hasn't been confirmed. Only 藏海传 is noted as internationally available, on Disney+ and Viu; for everything else, availability shifts often by country, so check before watching.

Closing — The Big Market Got More Certain of Itself, and the Small Markets Got Sharper

Look at these 17 titles together, and you can see three markets hardening in three different directions.

The mainland has entered the finishing stage of a logic built on scale. The four films released for Lunar New Year take up a large share of the year's total box office, and what fills that slot is proven IP and the names of major directors. Still, it's interesting that an exception like Dear You showed up. A film made in dialect with non-professional actors took both the highest Douban rating and the second-highest box office total of the first half at the same time.

Hong Kong is going the opposite direction. A $50 million big-budget production swept only the technical categories, while a low-budget film that went six years without a release won Best Film. That's a result the scale of the industry doesn't explain, and it shows where Hong Kong film currently has strength left.

Taiwan chose an entirely different path. It confirmed its presence not through domestic box office but at Cannes, Venice, Busan, and the Golden Horse Awards, and its subject matter — the White Terror, a night market, a regional language — is specific. That's partly possible because the market is small, and partly a choice left over because it became small.

Three different answers are coming out of a single language sphere. Rather than judge which one is right, reading the three lists separately is more useful for understanding Chinese-language film and television in this period.