China’s February box office surpasses US$1.4 billion as local productions win over domestic audience during Lunar New Year

China’s box office has racked up more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) in revenue in February, buoyed by film-goers flocking to the cinemas during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, according to the latest surveys.

Theatres sold 8 billion yuan in tickets from February 10 to 17 alone, led by the comedy drama YOLO, which earned 2.7 billion yuan during the period, according to data from the China Film Administration, ticketing service Maoyan and film data platform Beacon.

YOLO (“You Only Live Once” or Re La Gun Tang in Chinese), adapted from the 2014 Japanese sports drama 100 Yen Love, tells the story of an unemployed, overweight woman whose life changed after meeting a boxing coach.

Directed, written and starring Jia Ling, one of China’s most promising rising female directors, the tale of self-discovery became a big hit during the country’s biggest holiday of the year and sparked lively debates on social media about body image and self-esteem.

Following close behind YOLO was Pegasus 2, a sequel to the 1.7 billion yuan-grossing first instalment directed by bestselling Chinese novelist Han Han. It hauled in 2.4 billion yuan during the Lunar New Year.

Family-friendly animated adventure Boonie Bears: Time Twist rounded out the top three with 1.38 billion yuan in earnings. In fourth place was courtroom drama Article 20 from award-winning Chinese director Zhang Yimou, which made 1.34 billion yuan.

Co-produced by China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the top prosecutor’s office, Article 20 follows two prosecutors who work tirelessly to clear the charges of a villager accused of murdering a man who had bullied him and raped his wife.

China’s film industry has been on a recovery trajectory since 2023, after the country ended its draconian zero-Covid policy that restricted public gatherings and dealt a heavy blow to the domestic box office.

Film ticket sales during the most recent Spring Festival holiday jumped by about 18.5 per cent from the seven-day New Year break in 2023, while viewership rose by more than a quarter, data from the China Film Administration showed.

Chinese films have especially benefited from the return of film-goers, who are showing increasing enthusiasm towards movies made at home rather than Hollywood blockbusters that once dominated the country’s box office.

Local productions – such as the animated historical drama 30,000 Miles from Changan, crime mystery Lost in the Stars and martial arts film Never Say Never – topped sales rankings during last year’s summer season and the National Day “golden week” break in October.

Chinese films accounted for more than 83 per cent of the country’s box office total last year, which rose 83 per cent from the year before to reach 54.9 billion yuan, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua, citing official figures.