(Yicai Global) Feb. 22 -- Three Chinese films raked in more than a combined CNY4.5 billion (USD707 million) at movie theaters across the country during the week-long Spring Festival holiday that marked the Chinese New Year.

The biggest-grossing movie was comedy sequel Detective Chinatown 2 with CNY1.7 billion, followed by family picture Monster Hunt 2 and military flick Operation Red Sea with respective takings of CNY1.6 billion and CNY1.2 billion, business daily Securities Times reported. The hits were released on Feb. 16, the first day of the holidays, and set a new world record for single-day takings of CNY1.3 billion.

China's movie market is projected to become the world's biggest by 2020, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said last August. In 2017, box office revenues climbed more than 13 percent to over CNY55.9 billion, with domestic movies accounting for almost 54 percent of the market. A strong showing by sequels of domestic productions buoyed takings over this year's Spring Festival.

The six films on show at cinemas over the period set a new record in combined takings of more than CNY5 billion, an increase of about 70 percent from a year earlier. The other three were The Monkey King 3, a fantasy film based on classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, comedy flick The Face of My Gene and animation Boonie Bears 5.