The North American market grossed $2.08 billion last year due to a nine-month pandemic standstill. In 2019, ticket revenue in China totaled $9.8 billion, while the North American market was worth $11.32 billion, according to movie data trackers Beacon and Box Office Mojo.
Counting overseas revenues, The Eight Hundred surpassed Bad Boys for Life, starring Will Smith, and the Christopher Nolan-directed sci-fi movie Tenet to become the world’s top-earning film in 2020, according to Box Office Mojo. Industry analyst Mu Chen, who heads Beacon’s research institute, said domestic films had risen to become the major power propelling the homegrown market’s robust recovery. Mu said the upcoming Spring Festival holiday－one of China’s most lucrative box-office seasons－will accelerate the recovery of the domestic market.