Step inside Shanghai’s sprawling Xujiahui Metro Metropolis mall and also you’ll discover what was as soon as a struggling cinema has been reworked into the religious residence for Shanghai’s legion of animation followers.
There’s proof to be discovered when, after using the escalator to the fifth ground, we’re first met by two cosplaying youngsters perfecting their strikes whereas taking pictures a dance routine for Douyin. On the bottom behind them are luggage filled with anime-themed collectibles — together with some furry little recreations from the hit Chinese language animation No person — bought from the scores of toy shops unfold out throughout the advanced.
Final 12 months the struggling Metro Metropolis cinema was reworked into what’s referred to as town’s Animation Theme Cinema — with its applications now solely catering to that one style — and through the Shanghai International Movie Pageant, screenings of the whole lot from the current Indonesian hit Jumbo to a 4K model of René Laloux’s traditional Improbable Planet (1973) had been packed, and the toy-shop attendants exterior had been being saved busy.
“With clear positioning, targeted goals, and well-designed atmosphere and themed events, our target audiences have gathered steadily,” defined Liu Yina, director of the movie division on the Shanghai Municipal Movie Administration, throughout a panel at this 12 months’s pageant.
“Since opening, the Animation Theme Cinema has quickly become an iconic landmark for ACG culture. It has hosted more than 30 large-scale themed events, attracting nearly 1.5 million visitors, and non-ticket revenue including merchandise and themed catering has risen sharply.”
Fairly rightly, this residence to some 30 million folks likes to advertise itself as China’s “City of Film,” and its hyperlinks to the business date proper again to the nation’s first studios, constructed right here round 1909 after an adventurous American impresario named Benjamin Brodsky first introduced film cameras to city. China’s first animated characteristic movie — 1941’s Princess Iron Fan — was shot by Wan Guchan and Wan Laiming in a studio tucked away in Shanghai’s French Concession, simply three kilometers from Metro Metropolis.
However arduous occasions have hit the business all over the place — China’s field workplace is working virtually 41 % behind final 12 months’s tempo, in response to Artisan Gateway — and that’s known as for modern considering.
“Shanghai’s cinema industry has witnessed two pivotal turning points in its evolution. The first came in 1908 with the opening of the Shanghai Hongkou Grand Theatre, China’s very first cinema,” Liu mentioned. “The second occurred in 2002, when the Shanghai Gateway Yonghua Cineplex launched, ushering the industry into the digital multiplex era. Today, we are driving a third transformation — shifting cinemas from mere screening venues into integrated spaces for culture, socializing, and leisure.”
Grabbing headlines domestically this previous week has been the freshly painted and eager-to-please Minhang Huaxia Gumei Sports activities Theme Cinema — opened to coincide with the staging of the 2026 FIFA World Cup throughout North America and broadcasting stay video games in wonderful 4K inside its primary 500-seat corridor. The declare is that it’s the first — and to this point solely — sports-themed cinema in China.
There have been particular meals supplied because of the often-brutal screening occasions; there have been memento giveaways — and Liu has been happy by the response amongst locals.
“We believe it will become a one-stop destination for film viewing, exhibitions, and sports,” mentioned Liu. “Looking ahead, we will develop cinemas themed around technology, art, traditional opera, and more, continuously creating new cinema landmarks for Shanghai as a City of Film.”
