Today (15th), at the 2025 China (Chengdu) Performance Fair held in Chengdu, Sichuan, the China Performance Industry Association released a number of data and related reports on the national performance market in 2024. According to data monitoring and calculations of the ticketing information collection platform of the China Performance Industry Association, the overall revenue of the national performance market in 2024 was 79.629 billion yuan, an increase of 7.61% year-on-year compared with the previous year. Among them, the box office revenue of performances was 57.954 billion yuan, and the other revenue was 21.675 billion yuan.

Related reports show that the national performance market in 2024 showed the following characteristics:

1. The national performance market in 2024 was led by high-quality products, with obvious demand driven, and an overall upward trend. Performance companies continuously optimize the layout of the industrial chain, expand market channels, and enhance the market influence and economic benefits of performance projects.

Among them, musicals with a high degree of marketization are the highlights that have attracted much attention. Local original musicals such as "The River Gos East", "Making Fame and Strong Ten Thousand", and "Butterfly Transformation" highlight the diversified development of the theme of domestic musical creation; the drama field "Su Di Chun Dawn", "Warm Taste", "Yongding Gate", "Orphan of Zhao", "The World of Great Foot", "The Heavenly Works to Open Things", the opera field "A Centennial Shougang", "The Legend of White Snake", "Changxin Palace Lantern", children's drama field "Where is Chang'an", "Organ School", "Poetry Situation Drama - The Poetry Country Tour", the tourism performance field "The Great Qin", "The Sea" and so on. While exploring new story forms and narration perspectives, they fully utilize high-tech means to enhance the artisticity and appeal of stage works, and realize the "two-way trip" of China's excellent traditional culture and contemporary stage art aesthetics.

2. The regional supply differences in high-quality performance products continue to narrow, and the distribution of large-scale performances across the country is becoming more balanced. In 2024, the performance market continues to sink, and the advantages of convenient transportation have enhanced the radiation power of the performance projects. The performance market in third- and fourth-tier cities around the central city has made great progress.

In terms of large-scale concerts, the box office of many provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country will cover a total of 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in 2024, and the box office of many provinces and cities has increased significantly compared with 2023.

In 2024, the average cross-city viewing rate of large-scale performances remained above 60%. In addition to the box office revenue of the performance, it directly drove the audience's comprehensive consumption by more than 200 billion yuan.

3. Industry collaborative innovation has created more industrial linkages, and the role of promoting consumption has highlighted

In 2024, the national small theater and new performing space performance exceeded 200,000 for the first time, an increase of 13.21% year-on-year from 2023, accounting for 45% of the total performances.

The new space of performing arts is valued by more urban spaces, commercial real estate, shopping malls, etc. that require content to form a cultural atmosphere and consumption scenarios, and has become one of the priority choices for revitalizing urban space and promoting urban renewal.

At the same time as the performance companies "break the circle", more and more cross-field companies "enter the circle", and performances have become one of the keys for various brands to leverage the young people.

4. New technologies and new media support, and the innovative and product forms of performances are fruitful. Online performances, virtual performances and other industries continue to expand. In 2024, the association focused on monitoring online performances reached 4,061 online performances, with 8,779 online performances, and the total number of viewers exceeded 6.7 billion.

Virtual idol performances and the application of AI interaction technology have become new growth points.

The performance is moving from a traditional framed stage to a fully-area experience field.

5. Stage art goes overseas and expand the dimension of cultural exchange.

Performance products "go global" and promote the formation of more efficient and influential international communication in Chinese culture.

In 2024, the dance drama "Wing Chun" "breaks the circle and goes out to sea", performing 28 performances in London, Paris, and Hong Kong and Macao, with a total of 35,000 audiences. Among them, 12 consecutive performances were performed in the UK on 9 days, setting a record for the longest commercial performances of Chinese dance dramas in Europe and the largest number of sessions. The average attendance rate of 12 commercial performances reached 80%, and 4 consecutive events were performed at the Palais de Paris, with an average attendance rate of over 90%, achieving a double-winning box office success. The acrobatic ballet "Swan Lake" was staged 13 consecutive games in London, England in 2024, with an average attendance rate of over 90%.

Domestic literary and artistic performance groups actively carry out in-depth cooperation with well-known overseas cultural institutions and art groups, and jointly hold cultural festivals, art exhibitions, art performances, etc. Use online platforms to carry out cross-border cultural exchanges and seminars, invite overseas scholars and artists to participate in ideological collisions, deeply explore the value of Chinese traditional culture, and expand the dimension of cultural "going overseas".

The 2025 China (Chengdu) Performance Fair will hold the main forum, the 8th Theater Conference, the Music Performance Market Development Forum, the New Business Forum + New Consumption Special Forum, the Art + Technology Theme Forum, and the Optimized Potential New Work Venture Capital Conference, and other activities, as well as the theater new space exhibition area, the performing arts technology and equipment exhibition area, and the exhibition area set up for large-scale commercial performances for the first time.

(CCTV reporter Wang Qian and Shao Shukuan)