Nanshan-produced animation “Boonie Bears: Guardian Code” took third place on the Spring Festival holiday (Jan. 22-27) box office chart with over 747 million yuan (US$110 million) of box-office revenue.

“Boonie Bears: Guardian Code”

“Guardian Code,” produced by Shenzhen Fantawild Animation based in Nanshan District, is the ninth “Boonie Bears” film shown during the Spring Festival holiday. While the plot revolves around the family story of the Boonie Bears brothers, the film also consists of many sci-fi elements, such as artificial intelligence.

Aiming to bring laughter and joy to families, the “Boonie Bears” movies have somehow become a synonym with “Spring Festival films.” “Watching ‘Boonie Bears’ films is now our regular activity during the Spring Festival holiday. The holiday won’t be complete without watching it with kids,” wrote a moviegoer on Douban, China’s leading film rating platform.

“This year’s ‘Guardian Code’ is just as good as previous ‘Boonie Bear’ films,” the user added, saying it is a touching film for adults and children alike.

“We expect ‘Boonie Bears’ to be a series of films for generations of audiences,” said Lin Yongchang, one of the directors of “Guardian Code.” “As long as we put our hearts into every film and ensure their quality, we can always attract new audiences.”

Since its debut in 2012, the “Boonie Bears” franchise has become the most popular cartoon series in China. Thus far, Shenzhen Fantawild Animation has produced more than 1,000 episodes of the “Boonie Bears” animated series, as well as movies and stage dramas. Last year, “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” won the best animation award at the 2022 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

After enduring the negative impact of COVID-19, China’s cinemas welcomed crowds of moviegoers during the Spring Festival holiday and the country’s box office has made strong comeback, raising hopes for the film industry’s recovery.

Six domestic titles were released during the holiday. The total box-office revenue reached nearly 6.76 billion yuan, making for the second-highest gross figures for the holiday to date.