Overall, the box office performance of various films in this year’s May Day slot is relatively average, with the top three films breaking through 300 million yuan in box office.
As of 21:11 on May 5th, the box office of the 2024 May 1st (May 1-5) period has exceeded 1.522 billion, exceeding the 2023 May 1st box office of 1.521 billion. “Peacekeeper and Riot Squad”, “Spending Money at the End of the Road”, and “The Siege of Kowloon Fortress” are among the top three box office winners in the current period, with box office revenue of 406 million yuan, 391 million yuan, and 333 million yuan respectively.
During this year’s May Day slot, a total of five films grossed over 100 million yuan at the box office. The box office daily crown of the first two days of the schedule was won by “Peacekeeping Riot Squad”, and from the third day onwards, “The Last Day Spending” made a comeback and maintained its position as the box office daily crown of the last three days of the schedule.
Overall, the box office performance of various films in the May Day slot this year is relatively average, with the top three films breaking through 300 million yuan. The box office of the fourth place film “Spy and House Code: White” also reached 230 million yuan. In the May Day holiday of 2023, the box office of top films exceeded 400 million yuan, while the box office of third place films was less than 200 million yuan. In 2021, the box office of the top two films exceeded 500 million yuan, while the box office of the third place film was less than 200 million yuan.
Behind this May Day event, there are many listed companies. The company related to Wanda Film (002739. SZ) participated in the production and distribution of “Peacekeeper and Riot Squad”. Chinese film companies (600977. SH) and Hengdian Film and Television (603103. SH) participated in the production and distribution of the action film “Fortress Besieged in Kowloon”. In addition, Chinese films also participated in the production and distribution of “Spy and Playhouse Code: White”.
Chen Jin, a data analyst of the professional version of the Lighthouse, said: “This year’s box office of the” May 1st Stage “is higher than that of the same period last year. The market performance of the” May 1st Stage “is excellent, and the box office of many films exceeded expectations. In particular, the” Peace and Riot Squad “is popular among female audiences, accounting for 71.4%. The proportion of female audience watching movies in groups is also high, reaching 15.2%. It is very suitable for parents to take their children to watch movies, and has a good educational significance.” The Last Way to Spend Money “topped the box office on the third and the fourth day days of the schedule. As the only main type comedy of the” May 1st Stage “this year, it has obvious type advantages, which meets the demand of large scale audiences for easy decompression. Especially in the northeast, the box office performance is very outstanding.”
Chen Jin further analyzed that overall, the supply of “May Day” films this year is very diverse in terms of types. For example, young audiences love to watch romantic films such as “Journey Through the Moon” and “Piggy Man Movie: Interstellar Action” with the highest proportion of parent-child groups, while “Hal’s Moving Castle” has the highest proportion of single person viewing. The good diversity and richness meet the viewing needs of different audiences, which is also one reason why “May Day” has achieved good results this year.
Zhang Tong, a senior analyst at the Cat’s Eye Research Institute, said that overall, the overall performance of the May Day holiday this year, especially the box office performance on the first day of the holiday, exceeded pre screening expectations. This is mainly due to the higher proportion of tickets purchased on the same day than in previous years, the high enthusiasm of viewers for instant ticket purchases, and the box office performance of top films exceeding expectations.
Looking back at the history of Chinese cinema, except for 2022 and 2020, which were severely affected by the epidemic, other years of “May Day” have achieved impressive box office results. In 2023, “May Day” achieved a box office of 1.521 billion yuan. In 2021, the national box office of “May Day” was 1.674 billion yuan, 1.527 billion yuan in 2019, 1.006 billion yuan in 2018, 784 million yuan in 2017, and 650 million yuan in 2016.