China's summer box office hits record high of over 20b yuan

BEIJING -- China's total box office soared to 20.62 billion yuan (about $2.87 billion) during the just-concluded summer vacation, setting a new record for the country's summer box office sales, according to data released by the China Film Administration Friday.

From a pre-pandemic high of nearly 17.8 billion yuan in 2019, China's box office revenue from June 1 to Aug 31 this year has rocketed to a new level of 20 billion yuan.

This summer season has witnessed a turnout of 505 million moviegoers across the country.

Domestic productions dominated the summer film market, generating a total box office of 18.06 billion yuan and accounting for 87.58 percent of the total. Among them, crime thriller "No More Bets" led the run with the total box office of 3.53 billion yuan. The film offers a glimpse into the complex web of overseas cyber fraud.

Ranking from second to fifth are suspense thriller "Lost in the Stars," mythological epic "Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms," reality-themed film "Never Say Never," and animated feature "Chang An."