China’s Film Industry Faces Reckoning as Holiday Hits Fall Flat

Shares of Chinese movie and cinema firms took a steep tumble following the National Day holiday, with an industry index down 12% over the seven trading days after the weeklong break. The sector finally showed signs of stabilization on Monday, when the index gained 2.2%.

Driving the rout was a lackluster box office performance during what is typically a blockbuster season for Chinese theaters. Holiday ticket sales totaled 1.8 billion yuan ($217 million), the weakest in nearly a decade. Attendance slid 5.3% year-on-year to 49.3 million, while the average ticket price fell 9.4% to 36.6 yuan. Analysts point to falling prices as the main culprit behind the revenue drop.