On May 19, Shanghai Media Group (SMG) officially launched the "See You in Shanghai!" 2026 Performance Season. A series of blockbuster productions will be staged, including the global premiere of the musical Immersive Arcane, the Shanghai farewell season of the original English musical The Phantom of the Opera (marking its 40th anniversary) and the China premiere of the original English musical Moulin Rouge! The Musical (adapted from the film Moulin Rouge!), which won 10 Tony Awards.
Outstanding performances emerge:
Reflecting Shanghai's unique urban appeal
In 2025, leveraging the core brand "See You in Shanghai!", SMG LIVE under SMG strategically tapped into the market and introduced several hit productions that met public demand. These works not only set new box office records and fueled market enthusiasm but also made "traveling to Shanghai for a show" a new trend in cultural and tourism consumption.
For example, the musical SIX ran for 64 shows over 54 days, grossing RMB 36 million at the box office. The 40th anniversary concert of Les Misérables achieved a 102% attendance rate across 65 performances, with total revenue exceeding RMB 110 million—triple the 2002 figure in China. The Shanghai version of the immersive theater experience Sleep No More debuted the world's first "double ghost" special edition, reaching a milestone of 2,500 resident performances and driving over RMB 4 billion in peripheral spending over nine years. As a flagship "Made in Shanghai" production, the original local dance drama The Eternal Wave has won numerous accolades, including the Wenhua Award (China's top governmental award for professional performing arts), and has toured more than 60 cities nationwide with over 800 shows.
"In 2025, centered on 'See You in Shanghai!', the five major resident performance projects staged nearly 1,000 shows, generated over RMB 240 million in box office revenue, and drove nearly RMB 1 billion in cultural and tourism consumption, with nearly 60% of the audience from outside Shanghai," said Wang Jian'er, Vice President of SMG and Party Secretary of SMG LIVE. He noted that this impressive market performance reflects not only a breakthrough in data but also a significant boost in Shanghai's integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions. The sustained development of resident performance brands is making "traveling to Shanghai for a show" a common practice and steadily strengthening the city's core competitiveness as Asia's performing arts capital.
The continuous influx of world-class performing arts resources into Shanghai shows the city's unique cultural appeal and its mature ecosystem and consumer environment for the cultural performing arts industry. SMG will remain committed to developing high-quality content and creating a complete industry chain from international acquisitions to original in-house productions—that spans the entire spectrum from repertoire management to the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions. This effort is designed to boost Shanghai's international profile as Asia's performing arts capital.
Three benchmark projects lead the way:
Shanghai as a global debut stage for performing arts
The 2026 Performance Season will see a grand farewell to classic IPs, welcome the debut of major international productions, and witness the launch of China's first original immersive cross-dimensional IP, offering audiences a stage experience that masterfully blends heritage with novelty.
Immersive Arcane, a season blockbuster, kicks off the 2026 Performance Season and marks the world's first offline immersive performance based on the IP League of Legends. Meticulously crafted over two years, the production brings together top global creative talent and a strong local team. It showcases the deep integration of international creativity and Chinese original production and stands as China's first original immersive cross-dimensional performing arts IP. Since its opening, the project has gained increasing popularity, with over 300 million online views. It maintains high ratings on Douban and Maoyan and has attracted a significant number of international IP fans to visit Shanghai specifically for the experience, establishing itself as a new hallmark of innovation in Shanghai's performing arts industry.
The classic musical The Phantom of the Opera will present its 40th anniversary Shanghai farewell season at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from September 29 to December 6 this year. It faithfully recreates the classic version that premiered in London in 1986. Each performance features nearly 130 cast and crew members and over 230 hand-sewn classic costumes. With 22 scene changes averaging one every five minutes, the production meticulously restores the dreamlike spectacle of the Paris Opera House to offer Chinese audiences the most complete and authentic "Music of the Night".
The 40th anniversary Shanghai farewell season has also confirmed the special participation of musical star Ramin Karimloo, who will play the role of Phantom and join the international touring team to help write this legendary chapter. Samuel Wyn-Morris, another acclaimed Phantom actor from the 2025 international tour, will also perform the role in select shows during the Shanghai farewell season.
The award-winning Broadway musical Moulin Rouge! The Musical (adapted from the film Moulin Rouge!) will make its China debut from December 15 this year to January 3 next year at the BOCOM NEW BUND 31 Performing Arts Center in Shanghai. Adapted from Baz Luhrmann's classic film, the production blends over 160 years of musical classics and features more than 70 iconic songs, from those by Offenbach to Lady Gaga. With its lavish and exuberant stagecraft, it explores the timeless themes of love and freedom, offering audiences a powerful audio-visual experience.
Additionally, the dance dramas The Eternal Wave and The Crested Ibis, the immersive drama Sleep No More, and the large-scale multimedia fantasy show ERA 2 will continue their long-term runs in Shanghai, forming a classic resident performance matrix that spans different art forms and audience groups. Alongside new productions, they collectively enrich Shanghai's thriving performing arts market.
Beyond developing high-quality productions, SMG LIVE has also enhanced supporting services and optimized its service guarantee system. To address the inconvenience of traveling between cities to attend performances, it launched the 888VIP On Stage Membership Plan. The exclusive "Worry-Free Viewing" benefit offers flight and hotel subsidies if a show is canceled, ensuring peace of mind for every theatergoer.
Deep integration of culture, commerce, and tourism:
Building a new holistic cultural landmark for Shanghai
The high-quality development of the performing arts industry relies on deep integration with the city's cultural and tourism ecosystem. At a press conference, SMG LIVE and Jin Jiang Hotels signed a strategic cooperation agreement covering the entire industry chain. Leveraging SMG LIVE's top-tier performing arts IPs, the partnership will launch a series of initiatives under the banner "See You in Shanghai, See You in Jin Jiang," including themed afternoon tea and guest rooms, to organically blend culture with commerce. In the future, Jin Jiang Hotels will fully activate its existing commercial and accommodation spaces to create immersive drama-themed experiences and plan a series of urban cultural events. This initiative will harness the power of premium performing arts content to energize business operations, offering Shanghai a scalable cultural blueprint for urban renewal.
At the press conference, SMG LIVE also announced the official launch of the Phantom China Project 2.0. It will continue to partner with LW Entertainment (formerly Really Useful Group) to focus on expanding the Phantom ecosystem and bringing The Phantom of the Opera to Chinese audiences in novel and exciting ways. The project aims to make Shanghai a global hub for experiencing the Phantom through the most creative and innovative means, including the development of an ambitious immersive theatrical production. SMG LIVE will also partner with Jin Jiang International Holdings to drive the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions, and launch a series of new themed experiences and special projects.
Ma Chencheng, President of SMG LIVE, said that from Sleep No More setting a benchmark for resident performances to Immersive Arcane creating new immersive experiences, SMG LIVE has consistently focused on building urban resident performance brands. It continues to introduce major productions such as global and China premieres, while pooling top global creative resources to enhance local production capabilities. SMG LIVE aims to promote the deep integration of culture, commerce, tourism, sports, and exhibitions, make every standout production a reason to visit Shanghai, and cement its status as a unique global hub for performing arts in China.