On December 25, 2024, according to data released by China’s movie ticket booking platform Maoyan, the box office revenue in mainland China on the eve of Christmas this year plummeted to the lowest level in at least 13 years.
The data from Maoyan showed that on Tuesday, December 24, the box office revenue was 38.4 million Chinese Yuan (about 5.26 million US dollars), only a quarter of the 170.5 million Yuan from last year, and one-ninth of the 332.2 million Yuan from 2017. This also marks the lowest level since Maoyan began recording data in 2011, when the box office was 115.9 million Yuan.
In 2011, there were approximately 10,000 screens in all of China, and by the end of 2024, this number has increased to 80,000 screens.
Zhang Yiwu, a professor in the Chinese Department at Peking University, stated that this decline is the result of multiple factors, including the lack of blockbuster films and the rise of streaming services. He said, “I believe the main reason is the lack of big films.”
In China, Christmas Eve is not a public holiday, and the key dates for cinema scheduling are the Chinese New Year and the week-long National Day holiday. However, the sales performance on Christmas Eve is closely watched as it marks the final push at the end of the year.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s annual box office continued to rise, reaching its peak in 2019. Restrictions on gatherings during the pandemic led to a decline in box office revenue, and the recovery over the past two years has been lower than expected by industry insiders.
(This article is based on a report by Reuters)