China's box office gets holiday boost, amassing 297m yuan

BEIJING -- China's movie box office enjoyed a bounce over the May Day holiday, amassing 297 million yuan ($44.77 million) over the five-day period ending Wednesday.

The amount, though much lower than 1.67 billion yuan generated during the holiday last year, has been regarded as "better than expected" by a China Film News report quoting film industry experts.

Nearly 300 million yuan was generated despite mounting cinema closures, especially in Shanghai and Beijing -- two box office powerhouses -- due to a new wave of COVID-19 infections.

Daily ticket sales peaked at 81 million yuan on May 1, a huge jump from a low of less than 10 million yuan that continued for many working days in April, according to film data platforms Maoyan and the China Movie Data Information Network.

Topping the holiday sales chart was romantic comedy Stay With Me from Enlight Pictures with 88 million yuan, immediately followed by DreamWorks Animation's animated comedy The Bad Guys with 71.55 million yuan.

Coming in third place was Warner Bros Pictures' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. It grossed nearly 33 million yuan during the holiday.