China's Box Office Falls 15% in May as Avengers Frenzy Fades
Dou Shicong
DATE:  Jun 06 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
China's Box Office Falls 15% in May as Avengers Frenzy Fades China's Box Office Falls 15% in May as Avengers Frenzy Fades

(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 

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Keywords:   Box Office,Avengers: Endgame,Ticket Sales