(Yicai Global) April 7 -- The recent one-day Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, gave a further boost to China’s recovering movie box office.

Cinemas took over CNY196 million (USD28.5 million) in China on April 5, more than a year earlier when the same holiday spanned three days, according to figures from film data tracker Maoyan.

Suzume no Tojimari, which overtook Your Name to become the highest-grossing Japanese animation in China, Hachiko, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie were the top three earners.

The recovery at China’s box office began with the Spring Festival holiday in late Janaury, and there will likely be a revenge spending surge in the Chinese movie market this year, The Paper reported yesterday, citing Zhang Yi, chief executive and chief consultant of iiMedia Research.

Box office revenue, including service fees, jumped 13.5 percent to CNY15.9 billion (USD2.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2022 from a year earlier, according to data from the Office of China Movie Special Funds. It stood at CNY10.1 billion in January during the Spring Festival.

The top five movies this year have been in cinemas since then, accounting for 70 percent, or CNY11.9 billion, of takings so far this year. Full River Red and The Wandering Earth II alone contributed 52 percent.

March and April, the months between the Spring Festival and Labor Day holidays, were previously thought of as "off-season," but the situation is different this year as many movies have extended their release times to after January's holiday. More than 100 new films are scheduled to hit screens between February and April, the most in three years.

Box office takings during the Qingming Festival reflected a strong desire among moviegoers to watch films, and they will have many more movies to see in April and May, according to industry insiders.

East Asia Qianhai Securities estimates that the country’s box office will take a total of CNY54.6 billion (USD7.9 billion) this year, recovering to 85 percent of the pre-pandemic level, The Paper said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev