Beijing Enlight Media Co.,Ltd. has emerged as one of this year's most prominent film companies, with "Ne Zha: The Devil Child Returns to the Sea" (referred to as "Ne Zha 2") topping China's all-time box office charts with 15.446 billion yuan in revenue.
On August 27, Beijing Enlight Media released its first-half financial results, showcasing impressive performance driven by the outstanding success of "Ne Zha 2." The company reported net profit attributable to shareholders of 22.29 billion yuan, representing a remarkable year-over-year increase of 371.55%.
However, the gap between the 22.29 billion yuan net profit and the 15.446 billion yuan box office revenue highlights the disparity between industry popularity and actual earnings in the film sector. Additionally, blockbuster films remain unpredictable, with no single film surpassing 3 billion yuan at the box office since the Spring Festival period this year.
Beijing Enlight Media is no longer focusing solely on film production itself, gradually transforming into an "IP creator and operator," though this transition still requires time to prove its effectiveness.
**Significant Financial Performance**
Beijing Enlight Media reported first-half revenue of 32.42 billion yuan, up substantially by 143% year-over-year, while net profit attributable to shareholders reached 22.29 billion yuan, surging 371.55% compared to the same period last year.
The company attributed this growth to significant increases in both revenue and profit from its film and derivative businesses during the first half of 2025. Films in which the company participated in investment and distribution, contributing to the reporting period's box office, included "Ne Zha 2" and "One and Only." Films released in 2024 with partial box office revenue carried over to the reporting period included "Painted Skin," bringing total box office revenue to approximately 15.463 billion yuan by the end of the reporting period.
Furthermore, Beijing Enlight Media's films "The Whimsical Girl Murder Case," "East Pole Island," and "Non-Human Academy: Time-Limited Player" were released on July 18, August 8, and August 16, 2025, respectively. "Starry Sky of the Three Kingdoms" is scheduled for release on October 1. The company maintains a reserve of live-action film projects including "Small People" and "Her Little Dimple" awaiting opportune release timing.
The company has numerous animation projects in development, including "Big Fish & Begonia 2," "Legend of Deification 2," and "Tea Pecking High School 2."
"Beijing Enlight Media's animation production team has exceeded 170 people and may expand to over 300 people in the next year or two. This is expected to achieve production capacity of one and a half to two high-quality animated films annually, providing stable support for the continued production of the company's 'Mythology Universe' series," the company stated.
Despite significant net profit growth, the 22.29 billion yuan profit compared to the stunning 15.446 billion yuan box office reflects the complex revenue distribution model underlying the film industry's popularity.
Industry professionals point out that income across all segments of the film industry chain heavily depends on final box office performance. Currently, producers and production companies receive less than 50% of total box office revenue.
This situation is explained by recent industry trends where, to address market downturns and investment loss risks, most film producers adopt "group warming" strategies by introducing multiple production companies to jointly participate in investments. While this approach helps distribute risk, it also reduces final returns for each participant.
Industry analysts note that while blockbuster films demonstrate strong box office performance, they must absorb substantial channel distribution fees and marketing expenses. Additionally, Beijing Enlight Media continues investing in research and development of new film and television content, creating a time gap between investment and returns, resulting in the company's short-term net profit appearing to contrast sharply with the popularity of its productions.
**Beyond Single Film Bets**
Blockbuster films remain unpredictable. Before "Ne Zha 2," Beijing Enlight Media had released highly acclaimed and commercially successful films including "Ne Zha" and "Legend of Deification." However, gaps exist between blockbuster releases, prompting the company to look beyond individual films to smooth market volatility.
Beijing Enlight Media is transitioning from a "premium content provider" to an "IP creator and operator," with IP operations becoming a new highlight and sustained growth driver for company performance.
The company's financial report indicates that to support this strategic transformation, it has internally established two IP operation teams and will continue forming additional teams to ensure comprehensive, effective, and rapid operation of the company's numerous IPs. Simultaneously, operational talent from existing content production departments is being rapidly transferred to IP operation teams, with company-wide requirements for all employees to learn and practice IP operation business.
Beijing Enlight Media disclosed that first-half derivative business primarily centered around the "Ne Zha" IP, covering over 30 categories and more than 500 products. Beyond making "Ne Zha" IP operations routine, operational work for other IPs including "Big Fish & Begonia" and character-based properties has also commenced.
Market observations reveal that Ne Zha IP-related trading cards continue launching new products, with previous versions quietly discounted when new items arrive. Previous popular "Ne Zha" series blind boxes have sold out at major retail locations, with related merchandise showing strong market performance.
In secondary online trading platforms, "Ne Zha 2" related cards are being sold "by weight," attracting buyers at prices as low as 6.6 yuan per jin or 9.9 yuan for two jin, with numerous such sellers present. These bulk-sold cards primarily originate from two sources: consumers purchasing large quantities to obtain rare cards then reselling common ones in bulk, and livestream card-opening segments where merchants handle large quantities of common cards abandoned by consumers.
This phenomenon reflects the market enthusiasm for "Ne Zha 2" cards from another angle.
Industry experts indicate that since individual film companies struggle to consistently produce blockbuster films, developing derivative businesses becomes an important pathway to smooth performance fluctuations. They note that domestic IP derivatives have shown strong performance in both domestic and international markets over recent years, with this year's success of characters like Labubu demonstrating the enormous potential of the derivatives market.
Against this backdrop, leveraging top domestic IPs like Ne Zha, Beijing Enlight Media possesses significant advantages in expanding its derivative business.
However, IP derivatives represent an important "gold mine" for the film and television industry, contingent on having sustained blockbusters to drive demand through continuously refreshed topics that ignite audience interest. Once blockbuster films experience gaps, IP influence weakens, subsequently affecting derivative sales. This represents a mutually reinforcing process rather than independent operations.
Using the "Ne Zha" IP as an example, while it has become China's first super IP achieving cross-media derivatives and multi-field success, it still requires continuous sequel releases and innovative content to serve as Beijing Enlight Media's stable income source for the next decade or longer, maintaining IP vitality.
**Gaming Expansion**
Regarding gaming business, Beijing Enlight Media disclosed that it has jointly established a gaming company with relevant partners, with current team size exceeding 50 people and the first AAA game currently in production.
Industry analysts believe team size is not the determining factor for developing AAA games. A 50-person team can equally achieve gaming success, with key resources obtainable through talent recruitment and outsourcing partnerships. More importantly, innovation in gaming experience is crucial—not only providing visual impact but achieving gameplay breakthroughs that continuously attract players.
Film companies possess natural advantages in visual effects, but still lack sufficient experience in understanding player psychology.
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