Domestic Films Flop Again; the 2025 Yu Menglong Incident Cannot Be Turned Over

Netizens inundated the CCTV movie live broadcast channel, overwhelming the screen with messages like "fish fish fish". (Video screenshot)

[People News] During this Christmas period, the “Yu Menglong effect” once again flexed its power, and domestic Chinese films flopped again.

Just looking at the title of an article by the mainland self-media outlet Light & Shadow New World—“Four Domestic Films Flop, Star-Studded Casts Make Less Than 100,000 at the Box Office; Even Free Roadshows Can’t Attract Audiences”—makes the situation immediately clear, bluntly pointing out how miserable the mainland film market has become.

The article looks back ten years, noting: “Christmas Day in 2015 was also a workday, but daily box office receipts approached 300 million. Even Badges of Fury (The Villain Angel), whose reputation quickly collapsed, sold 140 million, while the more arthouse-leaning Mr. Six still brought in 57.67 million.”

Data show that this past Christmas, the mainland’s single-day box office was only 48.84 million. The author sighed: “With such a comparison, it’s not hard to see just how cold, miserable, and depressed the current (Chinese) film market is!”

The four domestic films were: Just Enough, Second-Half Comeback, Reunion Again, and 207B.

Just Enough has a fairly strong cast—a comedy starring Yin Zheng, Pan Binlong, Huang Cailun, Zhang Yiming, and Liang Chao. Despite being produced and distributed by Taopiaopiao-backed investors, its first-day screening share was only 8.7%, with a box-office share of just 1.1%. Platforms predict the film’s total box office will be under 5 million; after revenue sharing, it’s estimated that even publicity and distribution costs won’t be recouped.

Second-Half Comeback sold just over 2,000 tickets in three days, with a cumulative box office of 77,000; Reunion Again, invested in by Guan Hu and Liang Jing and starring renowned mainland actor Li Xuejian, also received no mercy from the market—after five days, its box office was only 70,000; 207B grossed a cumulative 91,000 in two days, and its current screening and box-office shares are both below 0.1%. Even in major box-office strongholds like Beijing and Shenzhen, not a single screening can be found.

Netizens believe the main reason for the dismal box office is that the effects of the Yu Menglong incident continue to ferment. While the CCP “bans Yu,” netizens “ban entertainment,” launching online boycotts such as “don’t go to movie theaters, don’t attend concerts, don’t recharge memberships,” and so on.

Netizens are tightening their wallets toward the domestic entertainment industry, yet are willing to pay out of their own pockets and take risks to speak out for Yu Menglong, making him widely known.

Recently, another commemorative advertising screen for Yu Menglong appeared somewhere in Hunan. Countless carrier-pigeon letters continue to fly every day from all over the country to Beijing. Relentless phone complaints still echo through major government departments.

After Beijing’s culture and tourism authorities reopened their comment sections, they were once again flooded with “Yu Menglong.”

Netizens joked one after another that they dare not go to Beijing, because Beijing is the most dangerous place.

“No surveillance—I’m afraid I’d be thrown off a building and even dogs wouldn’t find me.”

“Don’t dare go, afraid I’d lose my teeth.”

“Are there drinking banquets? Are Rolexes given out? Do we take the stairs or the elevator? I don’t have wings—I can’t fly!”

“Are there umbrellas? Are they big? I want to live a few more years.”

……

Recently, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ “Baohua Rose” trended on hot searches. It turned out that this year the academy introduced many new rose varieties and specially held a naming vote for them. After looking over the new varieties amid a sea of flowers, netizens’ eyes were drawn to the rose numbered “2479-4.”

Many netizens felt that the “2479-4” rose suited the name “Menglong” very well. White petals inlaid with pale purple edges—serene, delicate, and elegant. White, like hazy moonlight, symbolizes noble character; purple signifies nobility and spirituality. The combination of pure white and light purple practically spells out the name “Menglong.” It is currently in the nomination stage, and netizens are calling on everyone to give more likes to the name “Menglong” to help it successfully gain nomination.

Mainland netizens are using every possible means to preserve traces of Yu Menglong and increase his exposure. The CCP authorities, on the other hand, suppress on one side while using delay tactics on the other, trying to wear down people’s memories with time. But beyond the Great Firewall, in the free world, the CCP cannot get around this.

In the final results of the Global Top 100 Most Handsome Men, Yu Menglong placed fifth. Netizens believe the ranking itself is not important; what matters is letting the world see Yu Menglong, bringing in transnational oversight forces to push the Yu Menglong case forward. This is not just about a name—it concerns human rights, justice, and conscience.

On December 27, Taiwan’s ETtoday website announced the “Top 10 Dominating Events in Mainland Entertainment in 2025,” with September being the “Yu Menglong falling-from-a-building homicide case.”

In Yahoo’s recently released 2025 “Top Ten Entertainment Figures” ranking, the “Yu Menglong” incident appeared on the list again.

Memorial benches for Yu Menglong have appeared in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Iceland, and elsewhere. Across nearly all of Taiwan, Yu Menglong advertising screens can be seen everywhere.

At present, global petitions seeking justice for Yu Menglong have surpassed 730,000 signatures.

All of this shows that the page of Yu Menglong has already been fixed in the chapters of history. The CCP cannot turn the page, and netizens cannot forget.

Some netizens say Yu Menglong is like the bird-of-paradise flower. The bird-of-paradise, also known as crane flower, grows in the wilds of South Africa, yet resembles a crane forever holding its head high. Legend has it that it is a messenger flying to heaven, carrying unfulfilled longing as it wanders the human world. Throughout its life, it grows only toward the direction of the sun; if you forcibly twist its stem, it would rather snap than bend. The flower language of the bird-of-paradise is unrestrained freedom and steadfast watchfulness. It does not belong in a greenhouse, choosing instead to be a lone knight of the wilderness.

If you receive a bouquet of bird-of-paradise flowers, perhaps someone across mountains and seas is telling you, “Even if we are separated by ten thousand miles, my heart will always fly toward you.” As 2026 arrives, the stubborn Yu family army remains.
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