Over the latest weekend, the mainland China and global box office were dominated by four Chinese films, with the comedy drama “YOLO” leading the charge for the second consecutive weekend.
“YOLO” amassed an impressive $86.5 million between Friday and Sunday, bringing its 9-day cumulative total to $402 million. Directed by Jia Ling, known for her previous Lunar New Year hit “Hi, Mom,” the film has maintained its top position since the start of the Chinese New Year holidays, narrowly outpacing the racing comedy “Pegasus 2.”
“Pegasus 2” trailed closely behind, earning $80.6 million over the weekend for a cumulative total of $356 million.
Zhang Yimou’s legal comedy “Article 20” saw a notable improvement, climbing to third place in both the Chinese and global weekend charts with earnings of $70.2 million. Its 9-day cumulative total now stands at $207 million, a significant uptick from its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, the Chinese animation “Boonie Bears: Time Twist” slipped to fourth place domestically and fifth globally, adding $52 million to its 9-day cumulative total of $209 million.
In fifth place in China was Ning Hao’s “The Movie Emperor,” starring Andy Lau, which earned $1.3 million over the weekend, bringing its cumulative total to $11.9 million.
The Lunar New Year holiday period proved to be a boon for the Chinese box office, with record revenues reaching RMB8.02 billion ($1.11 billion), marking an 18% increase from the previous year. However, the comparison with prior years may not be exact due to the timing of the holidays, which officially ran from Saturday to Saturday but may have been extended by some individuals, resulting in an unusually long holiday period.
According to Maoyan, 163 million tickets were sold during the holiday period, representing a 26% year-on-year increase. However, this increase was accompanied by a drop in average ticket prices by 6% to RMB49.1 ($6.82) apiece, reflecting price reductions in major cities and a shift in attendance towards third and fourth-tier towns and cities, which accounted for 58% of box office revenue.
While China’s running box office haul for 2024 currently stands at $1.62 billion, marking a 14% decrease from 2023 levels, there is potential for this gap to narrow with the continued success of top titles and the anticipated performance of upcoming Hollywood releases.
