Han Haoyue/Text According to statistics from the National Film Administration, the box office for the May Day holiday in 2026 was 758 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.41%. As an emerging period, the box office revenue created by the May Day holiday in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024 was 1.519 billion yuan, 1.668 billion yuan, 1.519 billion yuan, and 1.527 billion yuan, respectively. In 2025, it plummeted to 747 million yuan. This year's May Day box office slightly increased, sending a signal of stabilization and providing strong support for the industry to restore confidence.

At the same time as the box office slightly increased during the May Day holiday, the topic of film withdrawal also became a hot topic. This year, three films, "A Thousand Hearts Don't Change," "Forest in the Forest," and "Two Hearts and Two Hearts," announced their withdrawal. The news of the withdrawal of "Two Hearts and Two Hearts" was not officially announced by the film company through their official account until the afternoon of April 30th.

This year's May Day holiday plan has 18 movies released, known as the "most crowded May Day holiday in history", with a first day box office of 164 million yuan, setting a four-year low. The sluggish market atmosphere seems to provide a "legitimacy" for the withdrawal of movies. In recent years, it has become a common practice in the industry for film producers to first secure prime time slots and then choose to withdraw after discovering fierce competition. However, the public opinion response to this practice has also undergone significant changes at different stages, and the "legitimacy" reasons for withdrawing are difficult to gain audience recognition.

The phenomenon of movie delisting has gone through three stages: firstly, some films were delisted under the pretext of "force majeure" to create a sense of mystery and achieve low-cost promotion; Secondly, the trend of delisting is spreading, with various reasons for delisting, and the audience is gradually shifting from understanding to disgust; Thirdly, the removal of files is seen as "running away if you can't beat it", which actually has a negative impact on the work.

Along with these three stages, it can be observed that the effect curve chart brought by the delisting of films can be seen. Films such as "Wolf Warrior," "Fanghua," "Eight Hundred," and "Young You" have achieved "delisting and reorganization," resulting in high box office revenue; When films such as "The King of the Sky" and "Let's Shake the Sun Together" were withdrawn and re released, although they also achieved good results, the box office figures were not prominent; The box office of "Operation Dragon," "Mr. Red Carpet," and "There's Nothing That Can't Be Solved with Hot Pot" was dismal when they were re released after being released.

In contrast, audiences are more willing to give favorable impressions to movies that stick to their schedule after being released. The more the market is sluggish, the more it is necessary for filmmakers to overcome difficulties and meet the diverse viewing needs of audiences with a diverse range of supply types. In the context of a poor overall environment, those films that insist on being released at scheduled times and take the risk of insufficient returns to support the market are a manifestation of courage and responsibility. Withdrawing files is now considered equivalent to 'dishonest behavior'. This year's May Day holiday "delisting trend" has become a hot topic, largely due to criticism from netizens. In people's eyes, still believing in "delisting and changing orders" is a superstition, and delisting is tantamount to voluntarily giving up, which is a lack of confidence in the content.

In fact, what ultimately determines the box office success or failure is the content of the film. In the latter half of this year's May Day holiday season, there is an opportunity for works that adhere to the schedule and maintain good reputation: "The Disappearance of Man" is popular for its strong genre style that includes elements of "suspense, thriller, and crime"; Cold War 1994 attracts audiences with its star lineup and IP effect; The Love Letter to Grandma "is a dark horse that stands out. The production cost of this local trendy language film is only 14 million yuan, and it is jokingly referred to as the" three no movies "due to the lack of stars, special effects, and publicity. However, it rushed out during the most crowded May Day season, not only earning a high score of 9.0 on Douban, but also rising to second place at the box office?And there is also an upward trend. According to the data on the evening of May 6th from Cat's Eye Professional Edition, the predicted box office of the film is 210 million yuan.

The competitiveness highlighted by this movie can be fully attributed to the content itself. It swept away the common propaganda tactics of topic creation and traffic preparation in past films, relying solely on touching stories, simple emotions, and profound depictions of Chaoshan culture, and was keenly discovered and supported by the audience. The success of "A Love Letter to Grandma" will once again verify that the core charm of the movie has not changed, which will help to remove the industry's impetuous mentality and encourage creators to focus on polishing the content.

For a long time, movie "booking" has been regarded as a serious matter, a "contract" between the film studio, the cinema line, and the audience, and a promise of "never see or leave" in the cinema. The withdrawal behavior has been ongoing for many years without any convergence, constantly overdrawing the trust of multiple parties. The film industry urgently needs to maintain and rebuild this trust, striving for "no withdrawal unless necessary" - once an agreement is made with the audience, there will be no obstacles. Instead of wavering in schedule, it's better to strengthen content competitiveness. Truly good movies never need to constantly change their schedule.

(The author is a cultural critic)