May Day box office hits record high with diverse film offerings

The recently concluded May Day holiday saw a remarkable surge in box-office revenue, totaling 1.53 billion yuan ($211.7 million), slightly surpassing last year's earnings, as reported by the China Film Administration, the nation's primary film regulatory body.

Among the eight new films released during the holiday period, five achieved box-office earnings exceeding 100 million yuan each, representing the highest success rate in the past five years, according to Maoyan, a prominent movie information tracking service.

Leading the holiday box office was Formed Police Unit, a film depicting Chinese police officers engaged in United Nations peacekeeping missions in an African country, amassing 410 million yuan in revenue. Despite its financial success, the movie has faced mixed reviews, with criticisms directed at its plot inconsistencies and the actors' performances, resulting in a rating decline to 5.5 out of 10 on the popular review platform Douban.

The Last Frenzy, a comedy narrating the transformation of a miserly man into a generous individual due to a terminal illness, initially secured the second spot on the festival's box-office rankings but surged to become Monday's highest-grossing film in the country, raking in 401 million yuan. The movie's success is attributed to its exploration of middle-age stress, resonating deeply with a broad audience.

Claiming the third position on the holiday box office charts was the crime thriller Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, portraying a young man's rise in a gangster-dominated environment and earning 343 million yuan.

The remaining two films, Spy x Family Code: White and Howl's Moving Castle, both Japanese animated features, also crossed the 100 million yuan mark at the box office.

Zhang Tong, a senior analyst at Maoyan's research division, emphasized the significance of the May Day holiday as a pivotal box-office season, bridging the gap between the Spring Festival and the summer seasons. He highlighted the growing diversity of genres in the domestic film market during this period, showcasing the evolving tastes of Chinese moviegoers.