Record holiday box office mirrors Chinese movie market recovery

China's box office revenue during the five-day May Day holiday ending on Wednesday hit a record high of nearly 1.67 billion yuan (about $258 million).

It beat the 1.61 billion yuan in ticket sales from May 1 to May 5, 2019, data from the China Film Administration shows.

The latest gains from the holiday, usually a lucrative movie season in China, further the market's robust growth in 2021 that started with record-high New Year's Day earnings, bringing the box office total since the beginning of this year to approximately 22.3 billion yuan.

Top Earners

Movie theaters across China over the five-day period saw a total of more than 44 million moviegoers, according to official figures.

Domestic titles contributed more than 96 percent of the holiday ticket sales, with the top seven earners all being Chinese productions.

My Love, a romantic drama from Enlight Pictures, topped the 2021 May Day holiday sales chart, having amassed about 511 million yuan. It was immediately followed by Cliff Walkers, renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou's first foray into the spy genre, which grossed 504 million yuan.

The two films each accounted for more than 30 percent of the holiday sales total.

Crime thriller Home Sweet Home ranked third with 190 million yuan, or 11 percent. It stars singer-actor Aaron Kwok, as well as 20-year-old Zhang Zifeng, who has recently become an online sensation due to her role in the hit drama Sister.

Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong, a crime thriller starring Louis Koo, Leung Ka Fai and Francis Ng, pocketed 161 million yuan.

Break Through the Darkness, a crime action tentpole telling the story of China's fight against organized crime, raked in 114 million yuan.

The latest figures, analysts say, once again indicate the close relationship between China's movie market performance and holidays, while there are further calls for the production of more quality films to meet people's increasing holiday moviegoing demand.