Beijing, July 18, 2024, The Europe Today: The Chinese mainland summer box office surpassed 5 billion yuan (approximately 701 million U.S. dollars) on Thursday, driven by strong performances from films like the comedy hit “Successor.”
According to data from the ticketing platform Maoyan, the cumulative summer box office on the Chinese mainland reached 5.01 billion yuan as of 8 p.m. on Thursday. Leading the box office is the crime mystery “A Place Called Silence,” which debuted on July 3 and has grossed nearly 1 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 19.8 percent of the seasonal box office.
Following closely is the comedy sensation “Successor,” starring the renowned comedic duo Shen Teng and Ma Li. The film, which began with massive preview screenings on July 13 and officially premiered on July 16, has grossed over 928 million yuan, contributing 18.5 percent to the total box office revenue.
The preview screenings of “Successor” on July 13 and 14 boosted the Chinese mainland’s daily box office revenues above 300 million yuan, marking the first time since May 3 this year that the market’s daily box office reached this milestone. Both Maoyan and Beacon, another film data platform, have revised their total box office forecasts for “Successor” to around 3.7 billion yuan.
Securing the third spot in the seasonal rankings is the drama “Moments We Shared,” released on June 22, with approximately 500 million yuan in box office earnings.
The summer moviegoing period, spanning from June 1 to August 31, is the longest single screening season on the Chinese mainland. In 2023, the summer box office totaled 20.6 billion yuan, highlighting its critical role in the annual film calendar.
Crime thrillers topped last year’s summer box office chart, with “No More Bets” and “Lost in the Stars” each grossing over 3.5 billion yuan during the period.
