Beijing, February 18, 2024, The Europe Today: Rao Shuguang, President of the China Film Critics Association, has highlighted the outstanding performance of China’s box office during the recently concluded eight-day Spring Festival holiday, attributing the success to a lack of highly industrialized visual effects blockbusters and the robust presence of quality comedy films that effectively catered to the family-friendly entertainment demands of viewers.
According to the State Film Administration, the holiday box office revenue reached an unprecedented high of nearly 8.02 billion yuan (approximately 1.13 billion U.S. dollars), with domestic comedy movies accounting for over 97 percent of the total earnings.
Comedian Jia Ling, renowned for her self-written, self-directed, and self-starring comedy film “Hi, Mom,” continued her success streak with the release of “YOLO,” grossing an impressive 2.72 billion yuan and claiming the top spot on the holiday box office chart. Chen Xuguang, director of Peking University’s Institute of Film, Television, and Theatre, praised “YOLO” for its powerful modern-day allegory, blending humor and tears while exploring themes of personal growth and empowerment.
“Pegasus 2,” the sequel to Han Han’s 2019 blockbuster racing film, secured the second spot on the chart with 2.40 billion yuan. The beloved “Boonie Bears” animated film series continued its success with the latest installment, “Boonie Bears: Time Twist,” grossing 1.39 billion yuan and securing the third position. Zhang Yimou’s comedy film, “Article 20,” closely followed with box office earnings of 1.34 billion yuan.
Rao Shuguang praised “Article 20” for addressing real-life issues, emphasizing the filmmakers’ social responsibility and commitment to using the power of cinema to contribute to legal and societal progress.
Industry analysts noted that family-friendly comedies resonated well with the cultural atmosphere and consumer psychology surrounding the Lunar New Year celebrations, establishing them as essential choices for moviegoers during the festive season.
Despite the remarkable success of comedy films, some movies opted to withdraw from the holiday schedule. Analysts emphasized the importance for filmmakers to enhance their understanding of market dynamics, cultural relevance, and public movie preferences during festive periods to better cater to viewers’ needs.
