In the first half of 2025, China's film projection market continued to advance equipment iteration and upgrading. While the total number of cinema screens grew steadily, LED cinema screens, as representatives of the "new-generation digital cinema equipment system", achieved a phased breakthrough in penetration rate, becoming a key driver of technological transformation in the industry. The following comprehensively sorts out the industry development trend from three aspects: market data, core participating enterprises, and growth drivers.
I. Core Market Data in H1 2025: Significant Increase in LED Screen Penetration Rate
1. Total Number of Screens and LED Screen Installations
In H1 2025, China's film market saw an increase of 3,352 new cinema screens, with the total number of screens remaining the world's leading. Among them, the number of newly installed LED cinema screens (i.e., projection screens for digital cinema LED auditoriums) exceeded 30. Although their proportion in the newly added screens is still low, the penetration rate has reached 1.3% — this figure is 0.4 percentage points higher than the same period in 2024 and represents a leapfrog growth compared to the 0.1% penetration rate in 2023. It marks the transition of LED cinema screens from the "pilot application" stage to the "large-scale promotion" stage.
2. Industry Signals Behind the Data
From the perspective of historical data comparison, the penetration rate of LED cinema screens shows an "accelerating trend": the annual penetration rate was only 0.1% in 2023, achieved slight growth in 2024 through policy guidance and technological maturity, and further expanded growth space in H1 2025 relying on the implementation of detailed policies and cost reduction. Although the current proportion of LED screens in the total number of screens is still low, as a core direction of technological upgrading, their growth trend has become the focus of the industry.
II. Core Participating Enterprises: Multi-Subject Collaboration to Promote LED Screen Implementation
At present, China's LED cinema screen market has formed an industrial pattern of "led by state-owned enterprises and coordinated by private technology enterprises". The main driving enterprises can be divided into two categories:
- State-owned enterprises: Represented by China Film Technology, Time China Film, China Film Photoelectric, and Huaying Aurora, they rely on in-depth cooperative resources with national cinema chains to occupy a leading position in the layout of LED screens in large cinema chains and core auditoriums in key cities, and are responsible for promoting the standardized construction and demonstration application of LED auditoriums;
- Private technology enterprises: Including China (Huaxia Leyard), Unilumin Technology, Alto Electronics, and Nanjing Lopu. Relying on their accumulation in core technology fields such as LED fine-pitch display and image color calibration, they provide hardware equipment and technical support for LED cinema screens, and promote product popularization through cost optimization.
The collaborative cooperation between these two types of enterprises not only ensures the technical compliance and projection quality of LED cinema screens but also accelerates the transformation of products from "technological R&D" to "market implementation".
III. Three Core Drivers for the Growth of LED Cinema Screens
1. Policy Guidance and Cost Optimization: Breaking Barriers to Large-Scale Promotion
(1) Policy Level: Comprehensive Support from "Planning" to "Detailed Rules"
The development of LED cinema screens has always been highly aligned with national film industry policies:
- The previously released China Film Development Plan has clearly listed LED screens as a key development project of the "new-generation digital cinema equipment system", establishing their position as the core direction of technological upgrading;
- In 2024, six national ministries and commissions jointly launched the "Film Projection System Update Plan", incorporating the construction of LED auditoriums into the scope of subsidies and support to reduce the threshold for cinema upgrading;
- In June 2025, the National Film Administration further issued the Notice on the Development and Standardization of Digital Cinema LED (Light-Emitting Diode) Auditoriums. It not only positions LED auditoriums as an "important transformation direction of film projection technology" but also puts forward clear requirements in three aspects: construction standards (such as screen size and brightness indicators), technical specifications (such as color reproduction and frame rate requirements), and management rules (such as operation and maintenance standards). This defines the "compliance boundary" for industry development and enhances the investment confidence of cinemas.
(2) Cost Level: Breakthrough from "High Premium" to "Acceptable Range"
The core factor restricting the early promotion of LED cinema screens — the cost issue — has been significantly alleviated through technological iteration and market competition:
- Initial investment: Previously, the initial procurement and installation cost of LED cinema screens was 3-5 times that of traditional laser projection systems. However, with the maturity of LED fine-pitch technology (P1.2 and below), the increase in upstream chip production capacity, and the intensification of market competition, the unit cost of LED screens in H1 2025 has decreased by more than 40% compared to 2023. The initial investment of some small and medium-sized LED screens has approached that of high-end laser projection systems, greatly reducing the investment pressure on cinemas;
- Long-term cost: The "zero consumables and low maintenance" characteristics of LED screens further widen the cost advantage over traditional projections (to be elaborated in the "Economic Advantages" section).
2. Economic Advantages: Leadership in Both Total Lifecycle Cost and Projection Effect
(1) Maintenance Cost and Service Life: Significantly Reducing Cinema Operation Burden
In terms of total lifecycle cost, LED cinema screens have formed an "overwhelming advantage" over traditional projection systems:
- Maintenance cost: Traditional cinema laser projectors require annual light source replacement and optical path cleaning, with an annual maintenance cost of more than 40,000 yuan per unit; LED screens adopt self-illumination technology, with no light source loss or optical path pollution, and the annual maintenance cost is almost zero. Calculated based on a 10-year service life, a single LED screen can save more than 400,000 yuan in maintenance costs;
- Service life: The theoretical service life of LED screens can reach 100,000 hours. Calculated based on an average daily projection time of 8 hours in cinemas, they can be used stably for about 34 years; the light source life of traditional laser projections is only 20,000-30,000 hours (requiring replacement every 7-10 years), and the life of traditional xenon lamps and other light sources is even shorter (only 500-800 hours, requiring frequent replacement). In the long run, LED screens can reduce the cost investment in multiple equipment replacements.
(2) Projection Effect: Enhancing Viewing Experience and Auditorium Competitiveness
In terms of core viewing experience indicators, LED cinema screens also have outstanding advantages:
- Brightness and contrast: The peak brightness of LED screens can reach more than 1000 nits, which is more than twice that of traditional projection systems (the brightness is usually less than 500 nits during 3D projection). Especially in 3D projection scenarios, they can effectively solve the problems of "dark pictures and lost details" in traditional projections, allowing audiences to clearly capture dark details and color layers in the pictures;
- Color reproduction: LED screens adopt RGB three-color self-illumination technology, with a color gamut coverage of more than 110% of the DCI-P3 standard, far exceeding the color reproduction capability of traditional projections. They can more accurately present the color intent of films and enhance the "immersion" of viewing;
- Stability: LED screens have no problems such as "picture jitter and focus deviation", and have higher consistency in picture brightness and color at different viewing angles, avoiding the defect of "dark edge pictures" in traditional projections and optimizing the viewing experience of audiences in the entire auditorium.
3. Diversified Applications: Transformation from "Single Projection" to "Diversified Revenue Generation"
One of the core advantages of LED auditoriums is breaking the single functional positioning of traditional auditoriums as "only for film projection" and expanding the revenue sources of cinemas through scene expansion:
- Undertaking diversified activities: Relying on the advantages of high brightness, large size, and high definition, LED auditoriums can host roadshows, premieres, fan meetings, and celebrity live interactions. These activities not only bring venue rental income to cinemas but also increase attendance through combined tickets of "activities + viewing";
- Commercial cooperation development: LED screens can also be used in commercial scenarios such as corporate annual meetings, product launches, and brand advertising. Some LED auditoriums located in the core areas of business districts have achieved significant growth in "non-box office income" through such cooperation;
- Revenue estimation: According to industry data statistics, LED auditoriums with diversified application capabilities can increase annual revenue by 300,000 to 500,000 yuan per auditorium. For popular auditoriums in core cities, this figure can exceed 600,000 yuan, effectively alleviating the dependence of cinemas on "box office sharing" and improving risk resistance.
IV. Summary and Outlook
In H1 2025, China's LED cinema screen market achieved rapid growth in penetration rate driven by "policy standardization, cost reduction, and diversified applications". Although the current scale is still small, it has shown a clear growth logic. With the further implementation of subsequent detailed policies, continuous cost optimization, and the increasing demand of cinemas for "differentiated competition", LED cinema screens are expected to maintain a higher growth rate in the second half of 2025 and the next few years. Gradually becoming the core engine of "technological upgrading" and "business model innovation" in China's film projection market, they will promote the industry's transformation from "scale expansion" to "quality improvement".