We begin with some goods on the second day of Chinese New Year! The Chinese film market saw more than 1.4 billion yuan or about 215 million US dollars in sales on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday. This is a new one-day record for a single market in the world breaking the previous record when domestic films grossed about 1.3 billion yuan or 198 million US dollars in China on the second day of last year's Lunar New Year holiday. The holiday again witnessed the Chinese film market reaching unprecedented territory, with domestic films becoming smash hits around the country. Now let's find out who were the top earners.

This year, 8 films from genres such as comedy, animation, fantasy and sci-fi were released on the first day of the Spring Festival holiday.

By the end of the day, comedy films were the top three in the box office. "Crazy Alien" made about 400 million yuan or 59 million US dollars, beating all the other films.

It was followed by "Pegasus". Directed by Chinese author and car racer Han Han. The comedy earned about 320 million yuan or 47 million US dollars in the box office.

Hong Kong comedy star and film director Stephen Chow's "The New King of Comedy" was one of the most anticipated films, it grossed about 270 million yuan or 40 million US dollars, ranking in the third place in the box office.

ZHANG JIAXING, BUSINESS MANAGER UME, BEIJING SHUANGJING "Comedy films are usually the most popular films during the Spring Festival holiday. Movie-goers prefer to watch something interesting with their family or friends, especially at this important time of year."

Coming in fourth was another highly anticipated film - "The Wandering Earth". Many expected it would shatter the opening day in the box office with its stunning visuals and spectacular scenes. It also fills the void of the sci-fi genre in Chinese cinema. But it didn't gain an excellent box office performance possibly due to a lack of good promotions.

The film received a high rating of 8.3 out of 10 on China's film review site Douban. Many expect it to move to the top in the box office in the next few days.

ZHANG JIAXING, BUSINESS MANAGER UME, BEIJING SHUANGJING "I think we can expect a turn around for the film. The competition is rife and it is yet to be seen which one will be the final winner in the box office. High quality films like this one are very competitive."

Benefiting from keen interest from children and parents, animations films were also one of the most popular genres.

"Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past" sold about 76 million yuan in tickets while "Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year" earned about 61 million yuan. They ranked 5th and 7th in the box office on the first day.

Coming in 6th and 8th were "The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang" and the crime suspense film "Integrity".

Over 14 films will squeeze into a tight theater schedule during the 7-day holiday and insiders anticipate ticket sales for the 2019 Spring Festival holiday to increase by 5 to 15 percent, making it a good beginning for the Chinese film market in the new year.