CHINA’S film market unexpectedly cooled during what’s typically one of it’s most important seasons, as a lack of blockbuster releases and booming travel demand kept people away from cinemas.

The country’s box office sales hit 2.7 billion yuan (US$370 million) during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday that ended Friday, down 39% from 2019’s level even though this year’s break was one day longer, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment.

Well-known Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s crime suspense movie “Under The Light” led the box office chart with around 883 million yuan in earnings, about 33% of the total during the holiday, according to Maoyan.

The 2.7 billion yuan in box office revenue is also well below estimates from major filmmaker China Film Co. and brokerages for takings to top the record 4.5 billion yuan collected in 2019.

The slowdown is likely to impact full-year performance. Year-to-date ticket sales as of the end of September were 5% lower than pre-pandemic levels, but industry consultancy Artisan Gateway now predicts the full-year figure to be 14.5% less than 2019’s.

Chinese are splashing their cash on dining out and travel, with this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou providing an extra boost to domestic tourism, while reigning in spending in other sectors. (SD-Agencies)