Two Bears Go on a 12-Year Spring Festival Run: Taizhou Boss Sweeps 10 Billion in Box Office Revenue

Two Bears, competing in the Spring Festival box office for 12 years.

On February 18, after 2 days in theaters, “Boonie Bears: Year of the Bears” is expected to earn 300 million yuan at the box office. According to Maoyan Professional, the film’s total box office will exceed 1.2 billion yuan.

Boonie Bears is an original animated IP by Huaqiang Fantawild. Since 2014, a new film has been released every Chinese New Year. The first, “Boonie Bears: The Great Treasure Hunt,” earned 247 million yuan, and the 2025 release “Reboot Future” grossed 821 million yuan.

In total, 11 films have accumulated 8.54 billion yuan in box office revenue. Including “Year of the Bears,” the Boonie Bears series will approach 10 billion yuan in total Spring Festival earnings.

“During the Spring Festival, animated films are scarce, and Boonie Bears, which targets family audiences and combines comedy, has obvious market potential,” said Lai Li, an analyst at Maoyan Entertainment, to 21CBR. He noted that the “multi-viewing” ratio for this series has consistently exceeded 20%, far above the average.

12 Years of Longevity

Huaqiang Fantawild is controlled by Shenzhen Huaqiang Group, with Liang Guangwei as the actual controller.

This entertainment mogul, 63 years old, born in Taizhou, Zhejiang, graduated from Shenzhen University’s Computer Science Department, and joined Huaqiang Group, eventually becoming chairman and leading its transformation.

By 2025, Liang Guangwei, who maintains a low profile, entered the Hurun Global Rich List with a net worth of 19.5 billion yuan.

Operating behind the scenes, Liang has not held a position at Huaqiang Fantawild, instead employing a professional management team to handle daily operations.

At the end of 2025, a new management team was announced: Dun Zhongjie became employee representative director, and Rong Zhigang was promoted to president. Liu Daoqiang resigned as president but remains chairman of Huaqiang Fantawild.

Dun Zhongjie and Rong Zhigang are both veterans of Huaqiang Fantawild, having previously served as general managers of Fantawild Films.

“Year of the Bears” is their first major project since taking office.

The new film mainly tells the story of Bear Big, Bear Two, and Light Head Strong, who gain mysterious “divine power.” Bear Big unexpectedly becomes the weakest, and in an attempt to change his situation, he falls into a villain’s trap, triggering a major crisis.

“Since elementary school, I’ve watched Boonie Bears. This year’s ‘Year of the Bears’ really made me cry and laugh… This time, Bear Big teaches us that it’s okay to be ordinary, to accept our imperfections, and that inner harmony is true strength,” commented an online viewer.

For parents, choosing Boonie Bears is a “safe option” with zero cognitive or decision-making risk. A 21CBR reporter visited Feiyang Cinema and found most audiences were three-generation families.

“My son was nervous and cheered throughout; Mom and Dad were touched by the characters’ growth and delicate emotions; grandparents felt a strong connection to traditional New Year customs depicted in the film—this is what a New Year celebration should look like,” said one viewer.

Thanks to 12 years of market trust, cinemas continue to support stable screening schedules.

For example, on Chinese New Year’s Day, “Year of the Bears” had a screening rate of 11.1%, ranking fourth, below “Flying Past 3,” “Silent Zephyr,” and “Dartman.”

“Over 40% of Boonie Bears viewers in third- and fourth-tier cities, and it’s especially popular in East China,” Lai Li told reporters.

For Liang Guangwei, the IP status of Boonie Bears is significant.

The 2025 Spring Festival release, “Boonie Bears: Reboot Future,” did not meet expectations, earning only 820 million yuan.

As a result, Huaqiang Fantawild’s revenue from cultural content and services from January to June 2025 dropped about 60.1% year-on-year to approximately 330 million yuan; net profit plummeted by 79.5%.

Key Strategies

The Boonie Bears film series remains an important “chess piece” for attracting audiences and maintaining IP popularity.

Releasing a new film every year during the Spring Festival helps Liang Guangwei sustain a year-round theme park operation.

As of the end of September, Liang has built and operated over 40 theme parks across China, including Fantawild Happy World, Dream Kingdom, Oriental Divine Painting, Water Park, and Silk Road Divine Painting, in cities like Wuhu, Xiamen, Zhengzhou, and Qingdao.

Among the new parks opening in 2025, the Sichuan Ziyang Fantawild Park performed best, with over 1 million visitors since opening.

The fantastical scenes and new characters from the Boonie Bears movies may be transformed into park attractions.

For example, after “Reboot Future” was released, Ningbo Fantawild Boonie Bears Park quickly recreated scenes from Future Tech City and Forest Secret Realm, incorporating Bear Big and Bear Two interactive parades, attracting many family visitors on opening day, with the first-year visitor count surpassing 600,000.

From January to June 2025, Huaqiang Fantawild achieved revenue of 2.68 billion yuan, with theme parks contributing nearly 90%, making them the company’s main pillar.

With over a decade of development, the revenue growth of its theme parks has been driven by sales and financial expenses, but net profit margin remains low at 3.7%.

Beyond building parks, Liang’s team has also launched cooperative and licensing investment models:

One involves partnering with investors to develop theme parks together, providing specialized equipment, and earning corresponding income; the other involves providing equipment and services without direct investment, earning profits from these arrangements.

In early 2026, they signed an agreement with Longgang City in Zhejiang to jointly develop Fantawild cultural and creative projects.

This is Huaqiang Fantawild’s first signing project in 2026 and marks another strategic layout in Zhejiang after projects in Ningbo, Taizhou, and Linhai.

Challenges Ahead

“Beyond Boonie Bears,” Liang Guangwei has yet to develop a second IP with significant buzz.

Huaqiang Fantawild has launched sequels like “Zhao Lin’s Adventure Diary II,” developed the Chinese-style fantasy IP “Dragon and Xiao Xiao,” and continued operating series like “Bears Helping Group 4,” but none have achieved high topic popularity.

New IPs have not yet been publicly released or rated, and sequels are mainly targeted at children, with little online discussion or crossover appeal.

Fortunately, Huaqiang Fantawild has a strong technological foundation, owning over 2,000 proprietary patents, and has independently developed VR track systems, panoramic dynamic sphere theaters, and other amusement facilities.

Its self-developed procedural modeling system and AI generation platform have improved animation production efficiency. In August, at the Comic-Con, Huaqiang Fantawild showcased a two-hour feature film entirely generated by AI.

Its special effects film business is also excellent, with systems like环幕4D (Cinerama 4D) exported to over 40 countries including the US and Canada.

The “Boonie Bears” series has maintained a steady annual release, translated into over 100 languages, and screened in more than 70 countries worldwide, thanks to technological support for creative innovation.

Meanwhile, its theme park business remains strong.

According to TEA data, in 2024-2025, Huaqiang Fantawild’s theme parks ranked second globally in visitor numbers, just behind Disney.

Liang Guangwei has laid a solid foundation in visitor flow and technology, providing fertile ground for IP development. The next blockbuster may just be a matter of time.

(Article source: 21st Century Business Herald)