Buoyed by robust holiday ticket sales, China's 2023 box office hit the 20 billion yuan (2.89 billion U.S. dollars) milestone on Sunday, earlier than last year, according to film data platforms Maoyan and Beacon.

This came after China recorded the third highest-grossing May Day holiday when around 1.52 billion yuan was generated over five days through May 3, mostly by the comedy Godspeed and action film Born to Fly, a dramatic depiction of China's elite pilots testing new fighter jets.

Back in January, the Spring Festival holiday — usually one of the most lucrative moviegoing periods in China — was the second highest-grossing to date. It raked in a whopping 6.77 billion yuan as crowds flooded theaters following China's adjustment of its response to COVID-19 and lifting of many pandemic restrictions.