China's Box Office Revenue Hits 13-Year Low on Christmas Eve

By Sophie Yu and Brenda Goh

BEIJING (Reuters) – China's box office revenues for Christmas Eve have plummeted to the lowest in at least 13 years, according to data from ticket booking platform Maoyan released on Wednesday.

Zhang Yiwu, a literature professor at Peking University, attributed the decline to a combination of factors, including an unimpressive selection of films and the rise of streaming services. "The leading reason in my view is a lack of blockbuster films," Zhang stated.

Revenues for Tuesday were 38.4 million yuan ($5.26 million), which is less than a quarter of last year's 170.5 million yuan and the lowest since Maoyan began keeping records in 2011, when revenues were recorded at 115.9 million yuan.

Christmas Eve is not a public holiday in China, and the key dates on cinema schedules are the week-long Spring Festival next month and National Day in October. However, Christmas Eve sales are closely monitored as they represent the final push for revenue at the end of the year.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, China's annual film box office was steadily increasing, peaking in 2019. However, pandemic restrictions on gatherings led to a decline in box office performance, and the recovery over the past two years has been weaker than industry insiders had hoped.

($1 = 7.2989 Chinese yuan renminbi)