BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four love-themed films hit Chinese screens on Thursday, providing a romantic atmosphere for Valentine's Day.
"Fall in Love at First Kiss" was the most popular, ranking third at Thursday's box office, earning more than 72 million yuan (about 10.6 million U.S. dollars), according to Maoyan, China's official box office tracker.
Adapted from Japanese comics "Itazura Na Kiss," this film is about a puppy love story between an ordinary girl and an upper-class boy.
Another film "Tonight, at the Movies" was imported from Japan, which was awarded "the most excellent movie" with the third Golden Crane Award in October 2018.
So far, the daily box office of Chinese cinemas has exceeded 520 million yuan, more than half of which, however, was contributed to by the sci-fi blockbuster "The Wandering Earth," earning more than 270 million yuan, according to Maoyan.
Observers said the previously screened films, such as "The Wandering Earth" and "Crazy Alien," will continue to be the main forces driving the box office higher, as quoted by a Beijing Business Today report on Thursday.
In recent years, the box office on Valentine's Day has been declining, with 603 million yuan, 392 million yuan and 263 million yuan earned for 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, said the report.
Just as comedies have declined in popularity during the Spring Festival holiday, romantic films no longer dominate the Valentine's Day market, which has raised demands for higher quality films, according to an article in today's National Business Daily.
