China's Spring Festival box office hits 5.75b yuan, led by racing comedy

BEIJING - China's box office revenue during the nine-day Spring Festival holiday that ended Monday totaled 5.75 billion yuan ($828.65 million), with total admissions hitting 120 million, the China Film Administration said on Tuesday.

"Pegasus 3," the third installment in director Han Han's racing-comedy franchise starring Shen Teng, emerged as the highest-grossing film of the holiday box office season with 2.93 billion yuan in ticket sales.

The contemporary espionage thriller "Scare Out," directed by Zhang Yimou, followed with 868 million yuan. The film centers on a leakage of classified military aviation data and marks Zhang's fourth Spring Festival release in five years.

"Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert," directed by legendary action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, ranked third with 806 million yuan, while the animated franchise entry "Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector" placed fourth with 714 million yuan.

The Spring Festival holiday is one of the most consequential windows in the world's second-largest film market. It accounted for nearly one-fifth of China's annual box office in both 2024 and 2025. In each of the past three years, the season's top title went on to become the year's overall box-office champion.