(Yicai) July 29 -- China's summer box office is projected to exceed CNY6 billion (USD890 million), but a wave of film withdrawals and weak earnings forecasts from listed film and television companies suggest the industry's recovery remains under pressure.

According to cinema data provider Maoyan Professional Edition, this year's summer box office, including pre-sales, is expected to reach CNY6 billion, about CNY600 million (USD88.6 million) higher than a year earlier. Even so, six films have already been pulled from release during the season, underscoring the challenges facing the market. The withdrawn titles are The Decisive Moment, Three Kingdoms: The Beginning, Gohan, Just Kidding, The Rise of the Great Sage, and Battle of Penghu.

Industry analysts said the withdrawals were mainly driven by disappointing box office results. Three Kingdoms: The Beginning announced its withdrawal on July 25, with the production company saying, "The current market space is no longer sufficient for viewers who want to see this film to comfortably enter the theater." Since its July 10 release, the animated film has generated cumulative box office revenue, including pre-sales, of just CNY87.4 million (USD12.9 million).

Competition is also expected to intensify in August, when major international releases including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey are scheduled to arrive in Chinese cinemas, prompting some producers to pull their films rather than compete directly.

The weak market has weighed on listed film and television companies. Of the 12 companies in the sector that have issued first-half earnings forecasts, 10 expect to report losses, indicating that the industry's prolonged downturn has yet to end.

Among them, Hengdian Entertainment, which operates cinemas and related businesses, expects a net loss attributable to shareholders of CNY52 million to CNY75 million for the first six months of the year, compared with a profit in the same period last year.

Hengdian said China's film market generated CNY17.4 billion in box office revenue in the first half, down 41 percent from a year earlier, while cinema attendance fell 34 percent to 422 million. It attributed the weaker performance to a shortage of high-quality film releases, softer consumer demand, and growing competition from other forms of entertainment, all of which reduced revenue from cinema operations and related businesses.

Editor: Emmi Laine