The movie industry’s “summer season,” typically defined as the period between June 1 to August 31, was anything but hot for Chinese films. With the Paris Olympics adding competition for eyeballs, the film industry took a huge hit, achieving just over half of its success from the summer of 2023.

Two movies, Successor and A Place Called Silence, achieved impressive earnings of 3 billion yuan and 1.3 billion yuan, but no other summer movie broke the 600 million revenue mark. Many films barely made a blip before quietly slipping into obscurity.

As the season draws to a close, here’s a roundup of some of the more notable films that you may have—probably—missed.

Successor 《抓娃娃》

With over 3 billion yuan in box office revenue, Successor was the comedy hit of the summer. Directed by Yan Fei and Peng Damo (the directing duo behind Goodbye Mister Loser and Hello Mr. Billionaire), the film stars Shen Teng and Ma Li as a pair of wealthy parents whose well-meaning attempts to raise their son border on the ridiculous. With its tried-and-true comedy formula and its star-led cast, the film is fated to become a hit long before its release. The film is also a critical success, receiving 7.4 out of 10 stars on the review platform Douban. Read a more detailed review from TWOC here.

A Place Called Silence《默杀》

While comedies are often the most popular, A Place Called Silence broke the mold as a psychological thriller. Directed by Malaysian Sam Quah, the film was a sleeper hit at the box office, earning over 1.3 billion yuan in revenue.

Starring Wang Chuanjun and Ning Chang, the film follows a working-class woman as she attempts to uncover the truth behind the deaths of three young students while also trying to protect her speech-impaired daughter.

Noted for its tight-knit plot and nuanced address of serious societal issues, the film has been decently received by the audience and critics alike, scoring a 6.1 out of 10 on Douban.

A Legend 《传说》

The return of Jackie Chan to the big screen can definitely get people talking—though not in a good way this time. Directed by Stanely Tong, A Legend is a sequel to Tong’s 2005 film The Myth. The film tells the story of an archaeologist, played by Chan, who discovers that the texture of relics found in a glacier closely resembles a jade pendant he saw in a dream. Driven by this discovery, he and his team embark on an expedition deep into the glacier. Alongside Chan and his widely discussed and derided de-aged “AI version,” this revisit also features an ensemble cast of celebrity actors and idols, including Gulnazar and Lay Zhang.

Only taking in 80 million yuan throughout its theatrical run, the film received widespread criticism for its messy plot, poor acting, and the stiffness of the AI technology used to de-age Jackie Chan, making it an internet laughingstock for a few days. The much-maligned film now sits at a barely passable 5.1 out of 10 on Douban.

Decoded 《解密》

From director Chen Sicheng of Detective Chinatown fame, this historical thriller set in the 1940s stars Liu Haoran as a genius working with a team to break enemy ciphers. The film also features American actor John Cusack, who plays the role of a mentor to the young genius.

Adapted from the award-winning novel of the same name by Mai Jia, this highly anticipated film has yet to make a splash in cinemas, earning only 300 million yuan at the box office since its release. But reviews of the film have generally been favorable, with many noting its similarities to Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

The film’s underperformance and continued low media presence may, in part, be a result of its early August release date, which happened to fall squarely in the middle of the Paris Olympic Games.

White Snake: Afloat《白蛇：浮生》

Realizing the creative and financial potential of animation following the box office success of Ne Zha in 2019, the industry has seen a meteoric rise in the number of studio-released animated films. As a relatively more recent addition to the roster of summer blockbusters, animated films have been somewhat of a mixed bag. This third installment in the White Snake film series is no exception.

Chronologically, this film is the main entry in the trilogy—White Snake, released in early 2019, serves as the prequel, while Green Snake, released in the summer of 2021, is the sequel. The story is a retelling of classical Chinese folk romance in which a white snake spirit transforms into a beautiful woman and falls in love with a mortal man, facing challenges and obstacles from both the divine and human worlds.

While its ratings and reviews on Douban are generally favorable, it only recently passed 300 million yuan in revenue, placing it well below the performance of its predecessor, Green Snake, which garnered 570 million yuan by the end of its summer run the year prior.