STORY: China's 2025 Spring Festival box office breaks records
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Feb. 3, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:18
LOCATION: CHONGQING, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of cinemas in China
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XIANG QIWEI, Moviegoer
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LIU JUNJIE, Marketing manager of a cinema in Chongqing, China
4. various of cinemas in China 
   
STORYLINE:

China's film industry set a new milestone during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, with box office revenue from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 reaching a record 5.75 billion yuan (about 802 million U.S. dollars), surpassing the previous high of 5.73 billion yuan set in 2021.

The Spring Festival, traditionally a peak and lucrative period for moviegoing, saw fierce competition among major releases.

Leading the pack was the animated fantasy "Ne Zha 2," which earned over 2.3 billion yuan in just four days, according to data released by the box office tracker Beacon.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XIANG QIWEI, Moviegoer
"I like watching movies. The experience in a theater is different; the sound and picture quality far surpasses that of home viewing. This year's Spring Festival season has brought many new films, like Ne Zha, which I really enjoy. So, I'd like to watch it during the holiday."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LIU JUNJIE, Marketing manager of a cinema in Chongqing, China
"With the release of several new films during the Spring Festival season, our cinema has also experienced a surge in attendance. Compared to last year's Spring Festival season, attendance has increased by 20 percent, with an average of about 3,500 visitors per day. In response to this surge, we have implemented various promotional activities and decorated the cinema with a New Year theme to enhance the viewing experience for our customers."

The Spring Festival holiday was extended by one day to eight days this year, running from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chongqing, China.
(XHTV)