China News Service, Beijing, February 18 (Reporter Gao Kai) According to preliminary statistics from the China National Film Administration, the national movie box office during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday (February 10 to February 17) was 8.016 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) , the number of moviegoers was 163 million, an increase of 18.47% and 26.36% respectively compared to the box office and attendance during the 2023 Spring Festival holiday, both setting new records for the same period.
Data shows that the top four films at the box office are: "Hot" with 2.718 billion yuan, "Flying Life 2" with 2.398 billion yuan, "Bear Infested: Reverse Time and Space" with 1.389 billion yuan, and "Article 20" with 1.34 billion yuan.
The new record is believed to demonstrate the strong recovery momentum of the Chinese film market. This Spring Festival, although there is no "big production" in the traditional sense like in previous years, several major films have important creatives. Jia Ling, the star and director of "Hot and Spicy", created a box office miracle with her directorial debut "Hello, Li Huanying" three years ago. "Flying Life 2" is Han Han's second time directing the racing theme that he is familiar with and loves after "Flying Life" , Zhang Yimou's "Article 20" returns to the real-life stories he is good at, and gathers many stars to join in. As the tenth work in the "Bear Bears" series, "Bear Bears Reversal of Time and Space" once again brings a stable audience base return.
Overall, the major films released during the Spring Festival have a good reputation. The top four box office films all received ratings of 7.9 or above on Douban, an influential rating platform here. The final box office breakthrough further highlights the audience's recognition of excellent film works.
While the box office is booming, the popularity of the Year of the Dragon Spring Festival movie has also extended to the big screen. Discussions on topics such as "Inspirational to lose weight", "Win for yourself once" and "Female perspective" triggered by "Hot and Spicy" remain high. While "Article 20" has attracted the attention of the whole people, "Article 20" , attracted the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China to post a series of film reviews on its official WeChat public account. Luo Xiang, a popular online legal scholar and professor at China University of Political Science and Law, posted an article recalling the original intention of popularizing the law after watching "Article 20", which also triggered netizens widespread attention.
At the same time, some "unexpected" events also occurred during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon. The first was the withdrawal of many films. "Mr. Red Carpet" directed by Ning Hao, "Let's Shake the Sun Together" directed by Han Yan, and two animated films "Huang Pi: The God of Wealth Cat" and "Bajie: The Lower World of the Canopy" were withdrawn midway through the schedule.
"Let's Shake the Sun Together", which was the first to withdraw, tells the story of two terminally ill young people who meet and heal each other because of the "Relay of Life" agreement. The film bluntly stated in its withdrawal statement that it had made a major mistake in its schedule selection. , will be postponed to March 30; "Mr. Red Carpet" is a satirical comedy with a relatively "cold" temperament. Its withdrawal statement stated that it "hopes to communicate sincerely with many audiences" and therefore chose to release it at an optional date.
Although the reasons for withdrawal are different and involve disputes such as film scheduling and line splitting, behind them are the uncertainties of the film market, especially the Spring Festival period, which is known as the "golden period". On the one hand, it is a huge period of time Dividends, along with more intense competition, put forward higher requirements for the competitiveness of participants and the accuracy of publicity.
In addition, a well-known singer's review of the movie included movie footage shot in a cinema, which triggered widespread controversy over "stolen filming." The industry believes that this discussion, whether from a legal or emotional level, is objectively unquestionable. This is a strengthening of the public’s copyright awareness.
The Spring Festival holiday has come to an end, and the record-breaking Year of the Dragon Spring Festival has made a good start for theaters here in 2024. According to the National Film Administration, as of 9:30 on February 18, Beijing time, the box office for 2024 has reached 110.81 100 million, domestic films accounted for 96.75% of the box office. (over)