Hong Kong cinema Christmas box office hits 20-year record low at HK$19.6m

Hong Kong cinemas recorded a 20-year new low at the box office of about HK$19.6 million this Christmas, down 40 percent compared to over HK$32 million logged last Christmas. 

Crucindo Hung Cho-sing, chairman of the Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association (MPIA), said it is the “worst year” he’s ever seen, believing that Hongkongers enjoying their long Christmas vacation else where attributed to the slump. 

This Christmas, superhero movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom came on top with a box office of HK$6.59 million, followed by Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet at HK$3.47 million and Disney animation Wish at HK$3.26 million. 

On a radio program on Thursday, Hung said the movie that had the best box office reception in previous years could easily see the number at around HK$4 million to HK$5 million in just one day. 

Yet, the HK$6 million box office for the Aquaman movie was accumulated from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day. 

Hung acknowledged that Hongkongers traveling up north impacted the box office to a certain extent, but noted this was not the only reason. 

He added that many families went traveling overseas since this was the first post-Covid Christmas for Hong Kong. 

The MPIA and the Hong Kong Theatres Association earlier said the Christmas holiday is a prime business period for the cinema industry, and the slump in the box office indicated that local spending for the movie sector remains at a low level. 

Business is not doing great and the situation is worrying, they added.