Movie guide for July

Here comes the busiest season for Chinese moviegoers. Starting June 29, nearly 60 new movies have begun rolling out to cinemas in the Chinese mainland, including works by some highly anticipated directors such as Jiang Wen, Xu Zheng and Tsui Hark.

Though packed with blockbusters, this summer is turning out to be quite different. Compared with the exclusive schedules for domestic motion pictures in previous years, several foreign competitors like the Russian production The Coach and Skyscraper starring Dwayne Johnson have joined the race.

Co-productions, combining Chinese bankable stars and distinctive Hollywood style, also have strong potential for earnings at China's box office. Escape Plan 2: Hades starring Sylvester Stallone and Huang Xiaoming as well as The Meg with Jason Statham and Li Bingbing are two major attractions on the big screen.

It's still too early to bet on the champion, especially after the astonishingly successful Wolf Warriors II from last year, setting a box-office record of 5.68 billion yuan ($848 million). Nevertheless, a more diversified movie landscape will certainly inject more talent and vitality into the sector.

All listed movies have been released or are about to come out during the next 30 days. Better start setting up your viewing schedule.