Box office revenue for the seven-day 2023 Chinese New Year holiday, the first Spring Festival since China optimized its COVID-19 measures, surpassed 6.7 billion yuan ($999 million) as of Friday, according to the data from the country's leading ticketing provider Maoyan. 

According to the China Film Administration, from 2013 to 2022, China's accumulated annual box office revenue was 423.8 billion yuan. From 2013 to 2015, China's annual box office grew by leaps and bounds, especially in 2015, when it increased by 48.7 percent year on year. 

From 2016 to 2019, the development of China's film market entered a phase of steady improvement. 

In 2020, the global film market was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and China's cinemas pressed the pause button for almost 180 days. In 2021, China's film industry recovered and box offices receipts grew rapidly, up 131.46 percent year on year.

Box office receipts during the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday had been trending steadily upwards before the epidemic, according to data from the country's leading ticketing provider Maoyan. 

The box office for 2018's Chinese New Year holiday reached 5.77 billion yuan, up more than 60 percent over the same period in 2017. However, in 2020, all seven films scheduled to be released during the Chinese New Year holiday were withdrawn in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. 

The total box office of 2023's seven-day Chinese New Year holiday was 6.76 billion yuan, ranking second in history after 2021's 7.84 billion yuan, according to the data from Maoyan.

The China Film Administration pointed out that this year's Chinese New Year holiday attracted 129 million movie-goers, an increase of 13.16 percent year on year.

Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu had the highest box office receipts during the 2023 Chinese New Year holiday. Maoyan's data showed that there was no disparity in the percentage change of box office receipts during the Chinese New Year holiday in Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and Tier 4 cities in China before and after the COVID-19 epidemic. This year, the total box office revenue in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities reached 760 million yuan and 2.23 billion yuan, respectively. 

(Data edited by Sun Yiwen; graphics designed by Mukesh Mohanan)