China books box office gains in January, local productions dominate

Asia-Pacific's cumulative gross box office revenue grew 587% year over year in January, with cinemas in the region collecting about $1.56 billion in the first month of the year, according to OpusData figures compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

There were 100 films released in January, a 5.3% year-over-year increase compared with 95 films that hit the screens in January 2022.

China, the region's biggest earner among monitored markets, saw a whopping 832% year-over-year rise in film earnings to $1.19 billion, with 11 titles released.

South Korean theaters followed China with a 782% year-over-year improvement in revenue at $331.0 million in January.

However, Japanese cinemas ended the month with a drop in revenue, collecting $1.0 million, a 96% decline over the same period a year ago. Japan also saw the lowest number of film releases among tracked markets.

* See APAC's box office numbers from January to December in 2022. * Check out the global film release report for January.

Local productions dominated the box office charts in China for the period under review.

"Mǎn Jīang Hóng," a historical suspense comedy produced by Huanxi Media Group Ltd., topped the charts in China with $468.6 million, followed by "Liú Làng Dì Qiú 2," a science fiction action-adventure film distributed by China Film Group Corp., with $380.7 million. "Xióng Chū Mò Bàn Wǒ Xióng Xīn" grabbed the third spot with $137.1 million.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney Co.'s computer-animated musical fantasy film "Frozen" and its sequel "Frozen II" were among the top two films in South Korea, earning $67 million and $93.2 million, respectively.

Critically acclaimed films, including Universal Pictures-distributed biographical drama film "She Said," and "The Banshees of Inisherin," a tragicomedy film distributed by Searchlight Pictures, were the top two earners in Japan, while epic historical action film "300," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., and science fiction horror title "M3GAN," distributed by Universal Pictures, were the top films in Australia.

Asia-Pacific audiences preferred the drama genre of films, followed by action and adventure, and comedy.