This year's box office of the Chinese mainland market hit 10 billion yuan (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars) on Tuesday, the earliest date the figure has ever been reached in a year.

According to data from the China Film Administration, domestic films occupy the leading position on the box office list.

"Full River Red," a suspense comedy directed by famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou, tops the list with nearly 3.42 billion yuan (about 506 million U.S. dollars), or 34 percent of the total. The movie is based on Yue Fei, a patriotic military commander of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), telling a story of eliminating evil to demonstrate loyalty and pursue justice.

It was followed by "The Wandering Earth II," a prequel to the 2019 sci-fi blockbuster "The Wandering Earth," which pulled in 2.78 billion yuan (about 412 million U.S. dollars). Dubbed "China's sci-fi epic," the film is about humankind building enormous engines to propel Earth to a new solar system as the sun rapidly burns out.

"The Wandering Earth II" was released simultaneously in international film markets including North America, Australia and New Zealand, during the Chinese New Year, where it also had good results. As of Sunday, "The Wandering Earth II" ranked in the top 10 at the North American box office.

The third was the animated film "Boonie Bears: Guardian Code," grossing 1.03 billion yuan (about 153 million U.S. dollars). The much-anticipated American movie "Avatar: The Way of Water" came in fourth with over 688 million yuan (about 102 million U.S. dollars) generated in January.

The Chinese film market has been gradually recovering this year after a slow down over the past three years due to the pandemic. Industry experts say that the holiday movie-going frenzy will draw more audiences back to cinemas.