Some RMB220m ($35m/£26m/€31m) in advance ticket sales have been taken for The Battle at Lake Changjin II for the film’s opening day alone, which looks set to conquer China’s box office ahead of the week-long Chinese New Year holiday.
According to state-owned Global Times, The Battle at Lake Changjin II is leading other films due out on the same day in the race for the top spot, with a combined pre-sales total of the next three films.
Eight films are due to be released on February 1 in Chinese cinemas, but The Battle at Lake Changjin sequel quickly took the lead in advance ticket sales, which opened on January 21.
The first film was only released four months ago and became China’s highest-grossing film of all time with RMB5.77bn ($913m) in ticket sales.
During Chinese New Year in 2021, ticket sales totalled a record RMB7.6bn ($1.2bn), with the holiday’s ticket revenue amounting to 16.6% of China’s box office total for the year.
Hong Kong cinemas still remain closed, and have been shut since January 7, due to concerns around a surge in infections from the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
It is the fourth time cinemas in Hong Kong have been forced to close throughout the pandemic, with outlets having been closed during last year’s Chinese New Year holiday also.
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