China's holiday box office booms

BEIJING - Chinese cinemas' box office reached a record high during the week-long Spring Festival holiday, official sources said on Wednesday.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said in a statement that between Feb 19 and 24, total box office topped 1.73 billion yuan ($282 million).

The figure for last year's Spring Festival holiday was 1.39 billion yuan.

Cinema ticket income on Feb 19, the first day of Spring Festival, reached over 360 million yuan, registering a new daily record in the Chinese film market, the statement said.

Audience feedback was generally positive. According to a survey jointly conducted by the China Film Art Research Center and Chinese showbiz consultancy EntGroup, festival moviegoers gave an average rating of 80.3 out of 100 to the films they watched.