China’s box office revenue on the first day of the May Day holiday exceeded 200 million yuan (about 27.5 million U.S. dollars) by 17:30 Thursday according to box office tracker Dengta Data, including pre-sales and limited previews.
More than 10 new films are released during the May Day holiday this year, ranging from biographies to suspense, from comedy to animation, to meet the needs of different audiences.
In the cinema hall of a movie theater in Lianyungang City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, promotional posters and trailers of movies were shown in a loop on the first day of the holiday. Local residents, either with their families or with friends, were happily waiting for the movies to start.
“II come here today to watch the movie ‘The Open Door’, because I like comedies, and it happens to be about some of the current chaos in livestreaming,” said a moviegoer.
In order to meet the demand for movie-watching during the May Day holiday, cinemas have generally increased the number of screenings.
“During the prime time, from 13:00 to 17:00, the basic occupancy rate can reach more than 80 percent, and that of the non-prime time period is around 45 percent, both showing a significant increase compared with the Qingming Festival period,” said Wu Le, duty manager of the cinema.
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 200 mln yuan
South Korea’s acting president and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced his resignation on Thursday in a televised address to the nation, amid wide expectations for his presidential run.
Han said that he decided to step down in order to do what he can and has to do at the time of crisis faced by the country, noting that unless the extreme politics are abandoned and the foundation for cooperation is established, division and conflict will be repeated no matter who will be in power.
He emphasized that he will go all the way to be the best for South Korea at this moment and in the future to the end. With Han’s resignation, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok will serve as acting president.
Han is widely predicted to announce his bid for the June 3 snap presidential election on Friday.
He has been one of the favored presidential hopefuls for conservative voters following the removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol from office over his botched martial law imposition.
A recent survey showed Han garnered a support rate of 13 percent, surpassing approval scores of the conservative People Power Party’s presidential contenders.
It was far below the 42 percent support for Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the majority liberal Democratic Party. The result was based on a poll of 1,000 voters conducted from Monday to Wednesday. It had plus and minus 3.1 percentage points in margin of error with a 95-percent confidence level.
S. Korea’s acting president Han Duck-soo resigns
