Six international movies hit Chinese cinemas this November, spanning The Cat in the Hat (November 6) to We Live in Time (November 28), with a 4K re-release of The Legend of 1900 in between. Here is what is worth your time at the movies this month.
By Billy Jiang
November is traditionally one of the quieter months for international releases in cinemas, with December's major blockbusters waiting just around the corner to take over the holiday season. But a relatively quiet release calendar doesn't mean there is nothing worth leaving the house for.
The Cat in the Hat — Friday, November 6
If everyday life has been feeling a little dull or overwhelming lately, the return of Dr. Seuss and his mischievous Cat in the Hat might be just the dose of happiness everyone needs.
The wonderfully unpredictable cat is on a mission to help a brother and sister rediscover their joy. The two children are struggling to adjust to life in an unfamiliar new environment, leaving them feeling rather miserable.
Enter a cat wearing a red-and-white striped hat, ready to launch a “Turn Back in Time” mission. As the most trouble-prone employee at the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC), this is his last chance to prove himself to the organization. Fail, and the cat could get fired and lose his beloved hat forever.
Determined to bring some happiness back into the children's lives, he pulls out every trick in his rather unusual repertoire.
A cat dedicated to eliminating human misery, a group of peculiar blue-haired creatures with their own unusual way of communicating, and a talking goldfish named Waffle — the film's fantasy world is certainly not short on eccentric characters.
Yet beneath all the mischief and colorful chaos lies a surprisingly gentle coming-of-age story. Through their adventures with the Cat in the Hat, the two siblings gradually learn about courage, companionship, understanding, and accepting one another.
Warner Bros. has certainly assembled an impressive lineup. Visual effects are handled by the team behind A Minecraft Movie, the screenplay comes from Erica Rivinoja of South Park, and the film is directed by Alessandro Carloni, one of the filmmakers behind Kung Fu Panda.
That is perhaps a good thing, considering the previous live-action adaptation, released in 2003, performed rather poorly at the box office. That film's eccentric humor and distinctive visual style were already something of an acquired taste back then, and they would still be divisive today.
This new version takes a different approach as a family-friendly animated adventure, offering something that audiences of different ages can enjoy. The Cat in the Hat is ready to help.
The Legend of 1900 — Friday, November 13
A classic of world cinema returns to the big screen in China, and some stories simply don't lose their power with age. “Not existing for anyone” could be the defining idea behind 1900's entire life, and it is also the emotional heart of this theatrical re-release.
When 1900 (Tim Roth) stands on the gangway, looking towards a stretch of land whose boundaries he cannot quite make out, he is not necessarily rejecting the world itself. Rather, faced with an endless number of possibilities, he chooses to hold on to his own sense of self. He would rather remain alone than follow a path simply because everyone else expects him to.
The film's return also comes with a choice of viewing formats. Alongside the standard 2D version, audiences can experience a newly restored 4K edition, including CINITY and CINITY LED screenings, bringing greater clarity and detail to the film's visual world. The textures of the rolling waves, the shifting light and shadows inside and outside the ship, the subtle expressions on the characters' faces, and every movement across the piano keys all have a chance to shine in greater detail.
This is the film's third time on cinema screens in mainland China, following its first release in 2019 and another re-release in 2024. For those who have already watched The Legend of 1900, this is an opportunity to revisit a film that has continued to move audiences across generations. For first-time viewers, there may be no better way to discover why a man who never set foot on land has remained so firmly in the hearts of cinema lovers.
How to Rob a Bank — Friday, November 13
This might be one of the boldest Hollywood crime capers of the year. With an all-star ensemble cast including Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Pete Davidson, John C. Reilly, Anna Sawai, Rhenzy Feliz, and Christian Slater, forget the usual bank robbers who keep their heads down, hide their identities, and disappear before the police arrive. This crew goes out wearing wolf, rabbit, and bear masks, livestreams their crimes, and even edits their robbery techniques into online tutorial videos.
Their track record is ridiculous: 15 banks robbed, 900 million views, and 31 million followers. That's considerably more online attention than most influencers could ever dream of.
There is, however, a twist. Rather than keeping the money, the gang donates their stolen cash to charity. When the rules of the game are already stacked against ordinary people, the film raises a rather uncomfortable question: who are the real predators in this money-making game?
As the crew's online popularity grows, cracks begin to appear within the group. Their enthusiastic followers bring even more attention and increasingly unpredictable risks, forcing the robbers to plan one final, ultimate heist.
What begins as an outrageous online spectacle gradually spirals into something much more dangerous. Expect plenty of gunfights and high-speed chases, with a generous helping of dark humor and sharp satire aimed at internet fame, viral culture, and the public's tendency to follow whatever is trending without asking too many questions. They say you can learn almost anything online these days. Apparently, this time you can even pick up a few bank-robbing tips at the cinema.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — Friday, November 20
48 tributes. One survivor.
Set 40 years after The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and 24 years before the original Hunger Games story, the latest installment takes audiences back to the day of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games.
The story follows 16-year-old Haymitch (Joseph Zada), a clever and resourceful boy from District 12 who is unexpectedly selected for an especially deadly edition of the competition. This time, the Capitol has doubled the number of tributes, sending 48 young people into the arena instead of the usual 24.
Twice the contestants, twice the bloodshed — and considerably fewer chances of making it out alive. Once the sun rises, the killing begins. This could be the most brutal and blood-soaked Hunger Games yet. Fans of the original series already know that Haymitch will become an important figure in the events that follow, but that doesn't make his survival any less compelling. How does he make it out of an arena filled with 47 other tributes? And how many young lives will be sacrificed to entertain the Capitol this time?
At its heart, the Hunger Games franchise can be summed up by one disturbing idea: when those in power turn human lives into entertainment and package oppression as a set of rules, how can ordinary people hold on to their humanity without becoming pawns in the game?
But perhaps the most unsettling part of the series is the way it keeps turning the camera back towards the audience. Are we also consuming other people's suffering for entertainment? Have we become accustomed to accepting certain injustices simply because they are presented as normal? When spectacle conceals cruelty and slogans replace critical thought, anyone can become a citizen of the Capitol — or a tribute in the arena.
With five films already released, the franchise has built a huge global following, while its iconic Mockingjay symbol has grown into a phenomenon in its own right. Sunrise on the Reaping now takes audiences back to one of the series' most significant chapters, offering a closer look at the brutal system that helped shape the characters fans already know.
Hexed — Friday, November 27
What happens when a teenage girl discovers that both she and her mother are witches? As it turns out, family secrets can be considerably more complicated than anyone expects.
Billie is impulsive, rebellious, and constantly feels as though she doesn't quite fit in. After being expelled from school, she unexpectedly discovers that she has hidden magical abilities and is transported from her suburban life to a mysterious witch world called Hexe. Her mother, Alice, is cautious and controlling, and the two have a difficult relationship. But when Alice is forced to follow Billie into this unfamiliar world, the pair must learn to work together.
On the surface, Hexed is a fantasy adventure about witches, magic, and a hidden world. At its core, however, it is a story about a mother and daughter learning to understand each other in an entirely new way.
Billie is a little different from the traditional Disney heroine. Disney often creates characters who are presented as inherently noble, whereas Billie has more of an edge.
She is rebellious because she feels restricted, even if she doesn't yet know how to deal with those feelings. That makes her a rather recognizable character for anyone who remembers what growing up felt like.
After all, most of us begin childhood believing our parents are superheroes. It takes time to realize that they are ordinary people, too — people who make mistakes, have their own fears, and sometimes make decisions that their children may not understand until much later.
We Live in Time — Saturday, November 28
A love story unfolding across different moments in time, We Live in Time takes a tender, sometimes heartbreaking look at love, illness, and what it means to make the most of the life we have.
The film follows Almut and Tobias (Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield) through three interconnected stages of their relationship: how they meet and fall in love, how they build a family and welcome a child, and how they confront cancer together.
Rather than telling the story in chronological order, the film moves between these timelines, gradually revealing how their relationship develops and how the choices they make are shaped by everything that has come before. The unusual editing and shifting chronology may leave some viewers a little disoriented along the way. But once the full picture comes together, it becomes clearer that the director is interested in more than simply showing how the characters respond to their circumstances.
The film wants us to understand the stories, hopes, and personal choices behind those decisions. Almut is afraid that, during her battle with cancer, her daughter will remember her only as a sick and helpless mother. She also doesn't want to become someone the world simply forgets. She loves skating and cooking, and has achieved things in both fields that she hopes will be remembered long after she is gone.
Rather than allowing illness to define the final chapter of her life, she wants to spend it doing the things that make her feel most like herself, and to say goodbye to the world on her own terms — with a sense of fulfillment and confidence.
Tobias doesn't always find it easy to accept her decisions. He is frustrated when she doesn't tell him about her skating ambitions, and later feels both angry and heartbroken when he discovers she has kept her participation in a cooking competition from him. Yet despite his concerns, he ultimately chooses to support her and respect her wishes. He lets go of the emotional gestures and carefully prepared plans he once imagined, because he understands the effort she is making to live the life she still wants. There is something quietly powerful about that kind of love.
It isn't always about knowing what is best for someone else, or finding the perfect words to make a difficult situation easier. Sometimes it means accepting that the person you love has their own way of facing the end, and choosing to stand beside them rather than take that choice away. Restrained, gentle, and deeply affecting, We Live in Time is not a film to rush through. Find a quiet moment, settle in, and give it the time it deserves.
Planning Your Cinema Trip
New to going to the movies in China? From choosing a cinema and picking seats to understanding ticket apps and premium formats, our ultimate guide to booking cinema tickets in China covers everything a first-timer needs to know.
[Cover image by That's]
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