China’s Lunar New Year box office sales strong despite coronavirus outbreaks, ticket prices
- China’s Lunar New Year box office revenue topped 2.3 billion yuan (US$361 million) by Wednesday afternoon, despite pricey tickets and virus outbreaks
- Though sales are down from last year, cinemas have filled up with people who have been told by authorities not to travel due to the pandemic
China’s domestic box office sales topped 2.3 billion yuan (US$361 million) by day two of the Lunar New Year on Wednesday, despite rising ticket prices and sporadic coronavirus outbreaks forcing cinemas to close in some parts of the country.
Sales totalled 1.5 billion yuan on Tuesday, the second highest daily taking recorded in China, though they were down on the same period last year, according to ticketing platform Maoyan.
The Battle at Lake Changjin II, a patriotic depiction of Chinese soldiers fighting American forces during the Korean war, accounted for more than half of Tuesday’s box office takings on its first day of screening, topping a billion yuan, according to Maoyan data on Tuesday afternoon.
Too Cool to Kill, the only comedy released this season, recorded sales of 358 million yuan, making up nearly a fifth of the day’s earnings, while Only Fools Rush In, a motorbike odyssey directed by former writer Han Han accounted for about a tenth of the market and contributed to 310 million yuan to the box office.
Boonie Bears: Back to Earth, a feature film spun off from a Chinese animated cartoon series, hit 204 million yuan in sales, the biggest earner among animated films.