Mainland moviegoers pack cinemas during summer holidays

China's summer box office has surpassed 8.12 billion yuan in total ticket revenue as of Friday night, driven by a flurry of standout domestic and international releases.

Stephen Chow's sports comedy "Kung Fu Soccer" emerges as the season's foremost commercial heavyweight, while homegrown animated feature "All Wishes Come True" has single-handedly amassed over 1.3 billion yuan in cumulative box office.

This cinematic revival is buoyed primarily by domestic productions that dominated the upper tiers of the competitive summer slate.

Among them, the family-friendly fantasy feature "All Wishes Come True" launched on July 18 reimagines the classic folklore of the Eight Immortals through stories of eight ordinary people, and is now one of the top ten highest-grossing animated films in China's box office history.

The film is also set for release in many countries and regions worldwide to bring the beloved mythology to global audiences.

"Kung Fu Soccer" marks the return of the "King of Comedy" Stephen Chow. It kept daily national ticket sales above the 100 million yuan mark in a 27-day streak, captivating millions of moviegoers with Chow's signature blend of hyper-stylised martial arts and underdog sports drama.

While homegrown productions continue to gather steam, international tentpoles remain steady, with "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" ranking third on the season's box office chart.

The Marvel blockbuster premiered in China on July 29th, two days prior to its North American debut, which showed Hollywood's growing confidence in the Chinese market.

{Danni Zhou TVB News}

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{Mainland moviegoers pack cinemas during summer holidays}