China's mid-February box office surpasses half of 2020 total

China's box office revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan (around US$1.55 billion) as of 6pm on Tuesday, a figure surpassing half of the total earnings of 2020, showed data compiled by the China Movie Data Information Network.

Major contributors to the enormous haul include the local titles "Detective Chinatown 3" and "Hi, Mom." They are being screened during the week-long Spring Festival holiday that started on February 11, according to the network.

"Detective Chinatown 3" earned a whopping 3.2 billion yuan over its five-day screening since its debut on February 12. "Hi, Mom," which premiered on the same day, has so far pocketed 2 billion yuan, according to the Tuesday data.

Theaters across China, except those deemed with high risk of COVID-19 spread, are open during the holiday with heightened safety measures.

Apart from the Spring Festival holiday, the Chinese film industry is expected to welcome at least two movie-watching booms during the summer break and the week-long National Day holiday in October.

The network said the box office on the Chinese mainland logged 20.3 billion yuan in earnings in 2020.