China's box office revenue for the Spring Festival holiday exceeded five billion yuan ($737 million) as of Wednesday, the fifth day of the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday.

A citizen buys film tickets at a cinema of a shopping mall in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 25, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)

The commercial hit “Full River Red,” the sci-fi blockbuster "The Wandering Earth II," and the animated fantasy "Boonie Bears: Guardian Code" were the three most popular movies during the holiday, accounting for almost 80 percent of total box office revenue, according to statistics from China's box office tracker Maoyan.

The Spring Festival marks the first seasonal peak for film industry in four years, after China optimized COVID response and lifted caps on entertainment and cultural facilities. Box office performance during the Spring Festival was driven by the optimization of epidemic prevention policies, a slight decrease in pre-sale ticket prices and a surge of audience enthusiasm for movie watching.

Based on the advance ticket sales of the Spring Festival holiday and the current box office takings, industry insiders expressed their optimism about the recovery of the movie market in 2023.

(Compiled by Zhao Yang)