Hong Kong Box Office Down Only 4% at Easter
Patrick Frater, provided by
FacebookTwitterEmail
Theatrical box office in Hong Kong was down by only 4% over the four-day Easter holidays, compared with the same period in 2019, the last pre-COVID year. The score was achieved despite mandatory seating restrictions still in place.
Data published Wednesday by Hong Kong Box Office Limited, showed gross revenues of HK$28.4 million ($3.64 million) between April 2-5, 2021. In 2019 the comparable figure was HK$29.6 million ($3.79 million). The city’s cinemas were closed entirely during Easter last year.
More from Variety
As Hong Kong has been roiled by multiple waves of the virus, cinemas were closed for a total of more than five months. That included the peak periods of Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year. They reopened in late February, but with seat occupancy limited to 75%.
Hong Kong Film Business Reopens With a Surge After Lockdowns
Vivienne Chow, provided by
FacebookTwitterEmail
Hong Kong’s film industry moved ahead on several fronts over the weekend after coronavirus-mandated lockdowns were reduced. But the return to business is likely to be uneven.
Cinemas reopened on Thursday, after being ordered shut since Dec. 2, 2020. A local producer-distributor Golden Scene pulled back the curtains on its expansion into exhibition. And Emperor Motion Picture unveiled plans for a big-budget movie, firmly centered in the territory’s crime drama tradition, and reuniting two of its most bankable stars Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, last seen together in the iconic “Infernal Affairs” trilogy.