Which ones are the stronger contenders?

December traditionally signals the beginning of the New Year movie season, with big-budget domestic films gaining momentum. Foreign blockbusters usually choose November as their battleground. However, things started to change last year.

In light of China's booming film market, the increasing number of foreign films are stepping in to grab a share of the season before the Spring Festival holiday period, where domestic productions dominate moviegoers attention.

This year, powerhouse domestic films are all crammed in the latter half of December, including renowned director Feng Xiaogang's Youth, Chen Kaige's fantasy film Legend of the Demon Cat, action films Bleeding Steel featuring Jackie Chan and The Thousand Faces of Dunjia.

Besides those mega hits, some low-budget films are dark horse potentials, including the crime thriller The Liquidator, an adaptation of a popular Japanese novel Namiya and the star-studded comedy Yao Lingling.

On the foreign side, 12 foreign films are competing in the first half of the month and six of them opened on the same day on Dec 1. The strongest contender is expected to be British comedy Paddington 2.