China’s holiday box office plummets to 7-year low as film industry struggles to rebound from coronavirus pandemic

Name: Guangzhou tightens Covid-19 controls as mass tests expose more cases in Chinese city
Uploaded: 2021-06-15T11:30:00.000Z
Duration: 2 min 11 s
Description: Guangzhou tightens Covid-19 controls as mass tests expose more cases in Chinese city

China’s box office revenue over the Dragon Boat Festival holiday was 465 million yuan (US$72.6 million), the lowest level since 2014

The film industry is still facing financial difficulties following the pandemic, with production companies citing tight cash flow and rising debt

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China’s box office revenue over this year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday was 465 million yuan (US$72.6 million), the lowest level since 2014. Photo: Reuters

Amanda Lee

Published: 7:30pm, 15 Jun 2021Updated: 2:53pm, 16 Jun 2021

China’s box office revenue over the most recent three-day holiday period plummeted to its lowest level in seven years amid a new coronavirus outbreak in the populous province of Guangdong, raising questions about the recovery of the nation’s film industry.

Box office sales for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday that ended on Monday grossed 465 million yuan (US$72.6 million), the lowest tally since 2014, when Chinese cinema-goers spent 439 million yuan on film tickets over the long weekend, according to data from Maoyan Entertainment.

In 2019, China’s box office revenue for the holiday was 785 million yuan and in 2018 it was 912 million yuan, according to Maoyan.

Many cinemas, restaurants and shopping malls in Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhanjiang – three of Guangdong’s biggest cities – have been temporarily closed due to a spike in Covid-19 infections, triggering a new round of lockdowns and travel restrictions for local residents.

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Guangzhou tightens Covid-19 controls as mass tests expose more cases in Chinese city

Analysts had expected a strong box office performance over the long weekend after sales reached 1.67 billion yuan over the Labour Day holiday early in May, contributing more than a third of monthly revenue for the film industry.