China's box office hits record high during Spring Festival holiday

SHANGHAI - China's box office sales totaled more than 5.72 billion yuan ($901 million) during the week-long Spring Festival holiday, breaking the previous sales record for the period.

The figure represented a growth of 66.94 percent over the same period last year, according to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of China.

On Feb 16, the second day of the Spring Festival holiday, box office earnings totaled about 1.26 billion yuan, breaking the global single-day record in a single market.

Domestic film "Detective Chinatown 2" led the Chinese film market by the end of the holiday, earning 1.89 billion yuan, while second place went to "Monster Hunt 2," which took over 1.7 billion yuan.

"Watching a movie is a meaningful way for families to enjoy the holiday," said Zhang Qiuping, a movie-goer in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is traditionally a time for family gatherings in China. This year's holiday ran from Feb 15 to Feb 21.

The top two films were also box office hits in overseas movie markets.

"Detective Chinatown 2" was released Friday in 41 cities in Britain, Germany, Austria, Australia and New Zealand.

The movie earned over $83,000 during the first weekend in Britain, and it earned more than $156,000 in Australia.

The box office revenue of China, the world's second-largest film market, rose 13.45 percent in 2017 to more than 55.9 billion yuan.

The overseas box office and sales revenue from Chinese movies exceeded 4.2 billion yuan in 2017, up 11 percent year on year.