Spider-Man, Ne Zha take China’s summer box office to new record as people seek cheaper thrills amid economic downturn
- Almost half a billion cinema tickets were sold between June and August, pushing revenues to US$2.45 billion, slightly above last summer’s figure
China’s summer box office reached a new peak, with total revenues of 17.6 billion yuan (US$2.45 billion), according to data released on Tuesday by ticketing app Maoyan and microblogging site Weibo.
Almost half a billion individual cinema tickets were sold between June and August, pushing revenues slightly above last summer’s figure of 17.4 billion yuan to set a new record.
Counter-intuitively, the slowdown in China’s economy may have actually boosted the numbers this year, as people sought cheaper forms of entertainment. One in every five cinema-goers was a student, the data showed.
“If they can buy two hours of happiness and relaxation with about 30 yuan, a lot of young adults would be willing to spend the money,” said Polly Lee, telecommunication, media and entertainment sector southern region leader at Deloitte China.
The biggest summer hits were Ne Zha, a Chinese fantasy animation, The Bravest an action drama about firefighters, and Marvel’s superhero movie Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Ne Zha, China’s highest-grossing film so far this year, is the first animation to top the summer chart. The film, released on July 26, made 4.68 billion yuan.