With millions of students beginning their summer vacation, theaters across the country are raising the stakes to contend in the fiercely competitive market.

As of Sunday, the summer box office — the year's longest movie season, lasting from June 1 to Aug 31 — has raked in over 2.54 billion yuan ($354.5 million), close to last year's 2.825 billion yuan during the same period, according to the showbiz information live tracker Maoyan Pro.

Currently topping the summer charts is the crime film She's Got No Name, starring A-list actress Zhang Yizi. Inspired by a 1945 domestic violence case, the film depicts an abused wife who murdered her husband in Shanghai.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, the eighth installment of Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise's long-running espionage action franchise, has taken the second spot, followed by the dinosaur-themed sci-fi blockbuster Jurassic World Rebirth.

A total of 104 films have been released or are set to debut this summer, with animated films — a family-friendly genre — emerging as one of the season's biggest draws.

Japanese animated film Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback, and Endless Journey of Love, a Chinese animation feature about the romance between an assassin and a fishing village girl, have respectively ranked as the fourth and sixth highest-grossing titles of the summer.

Highly anticipated upcoming animated films include Curious Tales of a Temple, which is an innovative retelling of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) novelist Pu Songling's masterpiece Liaozhai Zhiyi (Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio), and The Legend of Hei 2, which will once again bring to life the titular black cat demon — a shape-shifter capable of transforming into an adorable boy.

With more live-action tentpoles gearing up for the lucrative season, highlighted projects also include Dongji Rescue, based on the true story of Chinese fishermen rescuing British prisoners of war from the sinking Japanese cargo ship Lisbon Maru in the 1940s, and The Lychee Road, which fictionalizes a Tang Dynasty (618-907) low-level official's difficult mission to transport the fruit from which the movie's title is taken.

"The summer season is heating up with a variety of genres and themes," said Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.

Despite the Chinese film market facing various challenges — from the unprecedented expansion of short videos to decreasing investment — domestic filmmakers have been actively developing new methods to attract and resonate with audiences, he added.

"A healthy and mature market isn't just about runaway hits like Ne Zha 2 — it's about having a steady stream of high-quality films across all genres. Different movies need to find their right audiences — that's how a sustainable industry can be built and kept growing," Rao said.

Propelled by the summer blockbusters, this year's box office has reached 29.9 billion yuan, according to live tracker Beacon. Chen Jin, a veteran analyst at Beacon's research institute, said that the industry expects the summer season to boost morale and accelerate recovery.

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn