China box office sets new sales record with RM2.2 billion
BEIJING: Chinese cinemas took 3.347 billion yuan (RM2.2 billion) in ticket sales during the sevenday Lunar New Year holiday, setting a record high.
Last year, the takings for the same period came to 3.0 billion yuan.
The new record was announced by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, produced by Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow and directed by Hark Tsui led the list, taking 1.153 billion yuan (RM755 million) over the holiday period.
This was followed by Kung Fu Yoga (743.28 million yuan) and Buddies in India (529.68 million yuan).
Five movies had premiered on Jan 28, the first day of the festival.
Demons Fight Back made 356 million yuan on its opening day, shattering the record set by The Mermaid (316 million yuan) last year.
French Canadian animation Ballerina released near the end of the holiday period on Wednesday, but the high rating foreign film did little to distract moviegoers from domestic blockbusters. Even Arrival, the Oscar nominated sci-fi film, didn’t make much of a splash over the holiday. Premiering in the mainland on Jan 20, Arrival has only earned 103.38 million yuan to date.
While holiday revenue has been high, review scores have been mediocre. The five domestic films released on Jan 28 have received lukewarm reviews, with the highest reviewed film on Chinese media review site Douban being Duckweed (6.9/10) and the lowest being Buddies in India (3.9/10).
Some industry insiders have pointed out that this year’s high box office was largely due to ticket promotions on online ticket selling platforms.
For example, for Buddies in India, tickets were sold for as little as 8.8 yuan (RM5.85) each.
Meanwhile, China Film News has reported that 89 film coproductions obtained permits for shooting in 2016, which is a record.
The number was up 11 per cent from 2015, the paper reported, citing the China Film Coproduction Corporation (CFCC).
It said 54 of the co-productions will be between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong producers and 10 will involve filmmakers from the United States.
In recent years, co-productions have fared well in the Chinese film market.
Among the top 10 “domestic” films in 2016, eight were coproductions, including The Great Wall, an epic action-adventure by Zhang Yimou, which made more than 1.1 billion yuan (RM720 million).