China's box office during New Year holiday tops $157 million

Chinese domestic box office surpassed 1 billion yuan ($157 million) during the New Year's holiday from January 1 to 3, down 22.7 percent from the same period last year, data from China's movie ticketing platform Maoyan showed.

Amid strict COVID-19 containment measures in place during the holiday, the number of moviegoers totaled 24.56 million, a year-on-year drop of 28.2 percent. Cinemas in low-risk areas capped their attendance at 75 percent, while those in medium and high-risk areas remained closed, according to the film administration.

Domestic drama movie "Embrace Again" led the holiday's box office chart with 315 million yuan. Starring the country's top comedians Huang Bo and Jia Ling, the film revolves around stories of a group of ordinary people during the COVID-19 lockdown in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, spotlighting people's mutual support during trying times in early 2020.

The movie was helmed by Chinese female director Xue Xiaolu whose films have won multiple awards in China and abroad. She was awarded the Best Director award at the 2013 China Image Film Festival for romantic comedy "Finding Mr. Right."

Following behind were comedy film "Another Me" and crime thriller franchise "G Storm," which both amassed 223 million yuan.