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(Yicai Global) June 6 -- Avengers: Endgame has not succeeded in buoying China's mainland box office in May, as ticket sales slumped.
The box office receipts for all releases fell over 15 percent from the previous year to CNY3.7 billion (USD528.3 million) in May, Securities Daily reported today.
Avengers: Endgame, premiered on April 24, became the highest-grossing imported film on China's mainland in less than two weeks after its release. However, ticket revenues soon slowed down to log CNY1.6 billion for the month of May, still making up nearly 45 percent of the total box office.
Pokemon Detective Pikachu ranked second-highest during the month, raking in CNY598 million (USD86.5 million), and Lebanese drama Capernaum came third, making CNY341 million.
The current sluggish movie market has forced cinemas to increase their fares to ensure income, but this will reduce viewership, thus forming a vicious circle, Zhu Yuqing, founder of film review platform Juyinghui, said to Securities Daily.
An increasing number of consumers chose to watch films on online video channels and spend their money elsewhere amid rising ticket prices, industry insiders said.
The total ticket volume decreased 21 percent from the previous year to 95.2 million, while the average fare increased slightly to CNY38.4 (USD5.60), industry insiders told Securities Daily.
China's box office fell 8 percent in the first quarter of this year, after rising 9 percent to a record high of CNY61 billion last year.
Editor: Emmi Laine