Over Lunar New Year, China's box office hits record, travel jumps (updated)

Maoyan Entertainment

05/02/2025 11:32

(Adds data on travel, analyst comment)
       SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Feb 5 (Reuters) - China's box office
raked in record takings over the Lunar New Year holiday while
domestic spending jumped, data showed on Wednesday, marking a
bright showing for Chinese policymakers as they work to spur
domestic demand. 
    The Chinese film market took in 9.5 billion yuan ($1.3
billion) over the eight-day Lunar New Year period that ended on
Tuesday, 18.8% higher than the same period last year, as
moviegoers flocked to cinemas to watch movies such as "Nezha 2",
data from ticketing platform Maoyan  1896.HK  showed. 
    The box office figure surpassed last year's record of 8
billion yuan for the same eight-day period.
    A total of 187 million tickets were sold, also a record,
during the Lunar New Year period.
    Domestic travel spending hit 677 billion yuan, up 7.0%
compared with the previous year, while the number of domestic
trips rose 5.9% to 501 million, China's Ministry of Culture and
Tourism reported. 
    State-owned news agency Xinhua said multiple indicators,
including total expenditure, reached record highs.
    The ministry did not give a breakdown of the tourism
spending per trip but, according to Reuters calculations based
on the data, average spending per trip during the holiday this
year reached 1,351 yuan, up from last year's 1,335 yuan. 
    However, data from air travel platform VariFlight revealed a
mixed trend in flight activity. While the number of domestic
passenger flights dipped by 0.7% compared with the same period
last year, international and regional routes saw a surge, with
passenger flights increasing by 21.4% compared with 2024.
    The Lunar New Year data came after a private sector survey
of services pointed to slower growth.
    China is struggling with a prolonged property crisis that
has curbed investment and dented confidence, though policymakers
have pledged to prioritise domestic consumption this year.
    "China had a solid start to the Year of the Snake," Citi
analysts said in a note.
    "Consumers seemed to have favoured services including
culture consumption, with movie ticket sales hitting a record
high. Expanded trade-in programmes boosted durables sales.
Cross-border travel gained momentum, especially for inbound
tourism. Domestic policy is now the main thing to watch after
China’s tariff responses."
 ($1 = 7.2832 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Brenda Goh, Sophie Yu; Editing by Michael Perry
and Alex Richardson)
 ((Sophie.Yu@thomsonreuters.com; 861056692136;))