China rewrites single-day box office record

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China's box office raked in 802 million yuan (around 117 million US dollars) on Saturday, Lunar New Year's Day, setting a record for a single day.

Box office takings on Saturday, the second day of a holiday week in China, broke the record of February 8, 2016 when the box office reached 660 million yuan, according to Chinese cinema ticket sales website Maoyan.com.

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back. /CFP Photo

Director Stephen Chow broke his own box office record with Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, sequel to the 2013 hit film Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.

Chow's new film gathered 356 million yuan on its opening day, the biggest single day for a Chinese-made movie. The previous record was held by The Mermaid, a 2016 film by Chow, which made 270 million yuan on its debut day.

Kung Fu Yoga. /CFP Photo

The biggest opening day for a film in China was achieved by the Hollywood smash Furious 7, which grossed 401 million yuan on its debut in 2015.

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back topped ticket sales with its box office surpassing 728 million yuan as of Monday evening, followed by Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga, which also debuted on Lunar New Year and grossed 385 million yuan, the Maoyan.com said.

(Source: Xinhua)

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