BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's advanced ticket bookings for movies set to be released during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday have exceeded 235 million yuan (about 32.7 million U.S. dollars) as of 3 p.m. Monday, marking a strong start for the world's second-largest film market this year.
The annual Spring Festival holiday is one of China's most lucrative movie-going seasons, running from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 this year, one day longer than in previous years.
Data revealed that the pre-sales, which began on Sunday, surpassed the threshold of 100 million yuan faster than ever, indicating an upturn in China's movie market.
Observers believe the 2025 Spring Festival movie-going season has the potential to break records in both box office revenue and audience attendance.
Five domestic films, including the highly anticipated "Ne Zha 2," the sequel to the 2019 animated blockbuster "Ne Zha," are topping the pre-sale list for the season. All of them are set to debut on Jan. 29, the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to film data platform Beacon.
Tsui Hark's adaptation of Louis Cha's wuxia classic "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is currently leading the pre-sale box office chart with approximately 110 million yuan.
"Ne Zha 2" claimed the second spot, with advanced bookings totaling 36.5 million yuan, followed by the latest installment of the "Detective Chinatown" franchise, which garnered a pre-sale box office of 34.8 million yuan.
To boost the film market, the China Film Administration has launched a consumption promotion campaign, offering subsidies totaling 600 million yuan to the public. The campaign will run until the end of February. ■
