Chinese martial arts film "Ip Man: The Finale," the fourth and final installment in the "Ip Man" film series, grossed over 708 million yuan (101.4 million U.S. dollars) during the 11 days after its release, topping the box office during the Christmas week.

In second place was Chinese crime drama "Sheep Without a Shepherd," which earned another 190 million yuan (27.2 million U.S. dollars) to gross 792 million yuan (113.4 million U.S. dollars) in total. "Almost a Comedy" came in third with a gross of 126 million yuan (18 million U.S. dollars). 

Some of the recently released movies also performed well during the Christmas period. Domestic gangster film "S.W.A.T." topped the Chinese mainland box office with 6.41 million yuan (916,700 U.S. dollars) in revenue when it opened on December 27 opening day, according to the China Movie Data Information Network. "S.W.A.T." has grossed 46.86 million yuan (6.7 million U.S. dollars) since opening. 

A martial arts master

"Ip Man: The Finale" depicts the story of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man, played by actor Donnie Yen, and his apprentice Bruce Lee, one of the most iconic movie stars in the world, who is known for his Chinese martial arts skills. 

The movie has a broad fan base and scored 7.2 out of 10 on popular Chinese film rating and review site Douban.com and 9.2 on leading movie ticketing platform Taopiaopiao. 

What's in store for New Year's

One of the hottest seasons in China's film industry, the New Year's movie season is hours away. 

American blockbuster "Angel Has Fallen," the third installment in the fallen film series, opens on December 31. Domestic rom-com "Adoring" kicks off on the same day. This star-studded movie consists of six different stories and shows how pets get along with humans. 

Meanwhile, the 4k restored version of the classic Italian film "Life is Beautiful" will be released on January 3, which will be the first time Chinese mainland audiences will see the movie on the big screen. 

(Cover image by Li Wenyi)