Best Chinese Movies
Chinese cinema at its best, ranked by the audience rather than by festival juries. The Legend of Hei leads with 8.4, and the 20 films here average 8.0 — a strong argument for getting over the subtitle barrier if you have not already.
20 titles · average score 8.0 ·
The top 5 picks
- 1
The Legend of Hei (2019)
★ 8.4 · 532 ratingsWhen cat spirit Luo Xiaohei's home is deforested by humans, he must find a new one. He runs into a group of other spirit creatures who take him under their wing with dreams of reconquering the land they say is…
- 2
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
★ 8.2 · 399 ratingsA boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.
- 3
Dying to Survive (2018)
★ 8.2 · 219 ratingsA Chinese leukaemia patient smuggles cheap but untested pharmaceuticals from India to help hundreds of Chinese people suffering from cancer.
- 4
Ne Zha 2 (2025)
★ 8.2 · 797 ratingsAfter a catastrophic event leaves their bodies destroyed, Ne Zha and Ao Bing are granted a fragile second chance at life. As tensions rise between the dragon clans and celestial forces, the two must undergo a series of…
- 5
Better Days (2019)
★ 8.1 · 573 ratingsA bullied teenage girl forms an unlikely friendship with a mysterious young man who protects her from her assailants, while she copes with the pressures of her final examinations.
15 more worth your time
How this list is ranked
Nothing on this page is hand-picked to hit a word count. We pull films matching this list's criteria from TMDB, require a real audience behind each score, and rank by that score — 20 titles averaging 8.0. The page rebuilds daily, so new releases appear here as soon as enough people have rated them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Chinese movie?
The Legend of Hei (2019) leads with 8.4 from 532 ratings. A Brighter Summer Day and Dying to Survive follow.
Are these Chinese movies subtitled?
Availability depends on where you watch, but essentially all of these have English subtitles on major platforms. MovieAI links each title to its details, cast and trailer so you can check before committing.
Is this list updated?
Yes — it rebuilds every day from TMDB, so newly released movies appear as soon as enough people have rated them. You do not need an account to browse it, and there is no paywall on anything at MovieAI.