The lead-up to China's May Day holiday has kicked off with a movie market boom as the box office for new releases and re-releases exceeded 100 million yuan (about 13.75 million U.S. dollars) by Wednesday, including pre-sales and limited previews. Positioned between the Spring Festival and the summer vacation movie season, the May Day holiday period from May 1 to 5 is a pivotal slot for China's film market. This year, the holiday lineups include a strong mix of domestic commercial genre films and reality-based stories, catering to a wide range of audience preferences.
According to the online statistics platform Maoyan, the top six films in the Chinese box office leading up to the May Day holiday as of Wednesday night were Dumpling Queen, Thunderbolts*, The Open Door, A Gilded Game, Princess Mononoke, and I Grass, I Love. Four of these are Chinese domestic movies.
Among all domestic new releases during the holiday period, two featured comedies have garnered high expectations. "I Grass, I Love" offers a hilarious road trip featuring a truck driver and his young companion, while "The Open Door" is a satire on the chaos of livestreaming and the influencer industry.
Suspense-action films, a traditional staple of the May Day movie market, are represented by "A Gilded Game," a thriller centered on a financial crime, as well as "Trapped," inspired by true events.
Among drama films, "The Dumpling Queen," based on the true story of an underprivileged woman's rise as an entrepreneur, has stood out since the pre-sale. Animated films for family and children include "Happy Heroes: Rebel Rescue" and "Octonauts: The Crisis of the Tsunami".
China’s May Day holiday box office surpasses 100 mln yuan in pre-sales, previews
China’s May Day holiday box office surpasses 100 mln yuan in pre-sales, previews
China’s May Day holiday box office surpasses 100 mln yuan in pre-sales, previews
Trade volume between China and Russia surged 19.7 percent year on year to reach 85.2 billion U.S. dollars during the January-April period, marking a good start to this year, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
He Yadong, spokesman for the commerce ministry, said at a regular press briefing that the annual trade between the two countries has exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years.
The ministry and relevant Russian authorities have signed cooperation documents on trade and support for multilateralism, He said.
The spokesman said the two sides will continue to strengthen communication on economic and trade policies, leverage new quality productive forces to create fresh engines for growth, and upgrade trade in goods and services.
"The annual trade volume between China and Russia has exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. Trade between the two countries got off to a good start this year as the trade volume during the January-April period reached 85.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.7 percent year on year. As the upgraded China-Russia agreement on promotion and reciprocal protection of investments has officially come into effect, investment and cooperation in industrial and supply chains between the two countries are set to see continuous improvements with deepening sub-national cooperation. Not long ago, the two heads of state sent congratulatory letters to the 10th China-Russia Expo, fully demonstrating their deep expectations for strengthening local cooperation between the two countries," He said.
"Next, the commerce ministry will earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and work to improve and upgrade bilateral economic and trade cooperation to lay a solid foundation for the development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era. The two sides will also enhance mutual collaboration in multilateral and regional cooperation, jointly contributing to safeguarding a fair and reasonable international economic order," He said.
China-Russia trade up 19.7 pct in Jan-April
