China's box office smashed records over this year's eight-day Spring Festival, raking in a record 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) despite four films bowing out from the season.

Posters for major films screened during the Spring Festival holiday. [Image provided to China.org.cn]

According to a report released on Sunday by the Maoyan Research Institute, based on statistics from leading Chinese ticketing and big data platform  Maoyan, the total box office for the 2024 Spring Festival increased 18.5% year on year to a record 8.016 billion yuan. The total number of admissions reached 163 million, an increase of 26.4% year on year, demonstrating the strong demand for movie viewing.

While the demand for visiting movie theaters has increased, ticket prices fell for the second year, with a 6.1% drop this year to 49.1 yuan. In terms of regional box office revenue, the proportion of movie ticket sales in third- and fourth-tier cities continued to increase, rising from 52.8% of the total gross in 2019 to 58.9% this year. This marks the highest level in five years, showing the vibrant demand for movie viewing in lower-tier markets. It is also interesting to note that women above 25 years old were the dominant audience in China this year.

Four blockbusters dominated the holiday: "YOLO," "Pegasus 2," "Boonie Bears: Time Twist" and "Article 20." In addition, for the first time in history, four films entered the 1 billion yuan club during this time frame.

"YOLO," which stands for "you only live once," is the latest film by director and actress Jia Ling following her phenomenal directorial debut "Hi, Mom." The latter earned a staggering 5.41 billion yuan after its release during the 2021 Spring Festival, becoming the third-highest grossing Chinese film ever. In making "YOLO," a Chinese remake of the critically acclaimed Japanese film "100 Yen Love" (2014), Jia lost an incredible 50 kg to convey the message of loving oneself and fighting for life. Her new, inspiring, muscular appearance stunned audiences, generating significant buzz on social media which helped promote the film. It became the box office champion during the holiday, taking 2.72 billion yuan by Saturday.

"Pegasus 2" is the sequel to novelist-turned-director Han Han's race car comedy "Pegasus," with comedian Shen Teng returning as Zhang Chi, a former racing champion turned down-and-out driving instructor. Han's signature style, which combines comedy, inspiring themes and thrilling car races, successfully ramped up audiences' laughter and adrenaline, taking in 2.4 billion yuan.

Nostalgic family-friendly movie "Boonie Bears: Time Twist" pays tribute to the 10-year-old "Boonie Bears" franchise while upgrading the special effects and remaining a favorite among children during the holiday, earning 1.39 billion yuan. "Article 20," a comedy drama by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou, tells a story related to one of China's Criminal Law articles concerning legitimate defense, so far earning 1.34 billion yuan.

However, due to the fierce competition and strong word-of-mouth for the top performers, four other movies saw limited traction. The critically acclaimed "The Movie Emperor" by Ning Hao and "Viva La Vida" by Han Yan grossed only 83.58 million yuan and 93.36 million yuan, respectively — rare flops for two directors known for making blockbusters. The distributors of these two films admitted at the end of the holiday that they had chosen the wrong release date and withdrew from the profitable yet fiercely competitive season. Two animated features, "Ba Jie" and "God of Money," which grossed a paltry 3.32 million yuan and 886,800 yuan, followed suit. The withdrawal of so many films marked a first for the holiday period.

The Spring Festival has emerged as a lucrative film season in China, with moviegoing becoming an increasingly popular activity during the holiday. Thanks to the booming Lunar New Year, the total gross of the Chinese box office for 2024 has so far surpassed 10 billion yuan.

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