A poster for Wolf Totem Photo: CFP

A poster for Zhong Kui - Snow Girl And The Dark Crystal Photo: CFP

A poster forThe Man from Macau 2 Photo: CFP

China's film industry reached a few milestones last year as films in China earned a total box office of 3 billion yuan ($478 million) in February 2014, followed by 3.63 billion in July, a record high single month box office, thanks to Transformers: Age of Extinction's release that month. The robotic blockbuster earned 1.22 billion yuan in the Chinese mainland that month, eventually becoming the market's highest earning film ever.

Now it looks like 2015 will perform even higher, as February raked in 4.05 billion yuan at the box office, the highest ever single month box office in the Chinese mainland, according to data from the EBOT Entrgroup.

One of the major contributing factors behind this impressive number was the Spring Festival holidays, which ran from February 18 - 24 this year. During this period, the film industry in China set a new box office record, raking in 1.7 billion yuan, an increase of 25 percent over last year, according to box office data collection site 58921.com.

 With seven major films hitting screens on the first day of the Lunar New Year (February 19), this set conditions for the creation of huge box office returns as well as fierce competition among studios.

Hong Kong directors top winners

Over the week-long holiday, action epic Dragon Blade, starring Jackie Chan, Adrien Brody and John Cusack and directed by Hong Kong director Daniel Lee, topped the list by earning 450 million yuan. The film has earned 565 million yuan as of Saturday which makes it the second highest earner for February.

Jackie Chan has proven that he is still a box office magnet, his last two films CZ 12 and Police Story 2013 also had high box office returns.

Comedy The Man from Macau 2, directed renowned Hong Kong comedy director Jing Wong and starring Chow Yun-fat and Carina Lau, earned 300 million yuan during the Spring Festival. However, it quickly came up behind Dragon Blade and now holds the February top spot with 603 million yuan.

Fantasy action film Zhong Kui - Snow Girl And The Dark Crystal, directed by Zhao Tianyu and Hong Kong director Peter Lau and starring Li Bingbing and Chen Kun, ranks at No. 4 for the month at 335 million yuan.

Although many have argued that Hong Kong films, which led the Chinese film industry for years at the end of the last century, lost their allure years ago, talented filmmakers from Hong Kong have been doing quite well in the mainland market over the past few years. The above three films all had Hong Kong directors at the helm, while the cast of The Man from Macau 2 was made up of Hong Kong actors and actresses.

While it's getting harder and harder to distinguish Hong Kong and Chinese mainland films, The Man From Macau 2 is a typical Hong Kong comedy strongly featuring Jing Wong's personal style. The last installment, The Man From Macau, also performed well ranking as 14th highest earning film in the mainland for 2014 with 525 million yuan.  

Although the first film received poor reviews, this didn't affect the second installment's box office and has proven that light-hearted comedies are still the No.1 choice for audiences during the holidays.

Continuing the trend of mainland films with non-mainland directors, Wolf Totem, directed by French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, has received generally positive reviews while taking the No.3 spot with 418 million yuan. According to the Entgroup, Wolf Totem was the most well received film over the holidays followed by Dragon Blade and The Man From Macau 2.

Third- and fourth-tier battlefield

Also contributing to the overall holiday box office were more light-hearted films Where Are You, Dad? (202 million), Triumph in the Skies (133 million), Boonie Bears: Mystical Winter (287 million) and Somewhere Only We Know (278 million).

A major holiday that sees many people returning to their hometowns, Spring Festival in Beijing and Shanghai witnessed lower box office numbers while third- and fourth-tier cities saw a marked increase. Foshan, Guangdong Province earned first place among these cities when it came to box office returns followed by Taizhou, Zhejiang Province and Yancheng, Jiangsu Province.

In addition to the holiday contributing to increased box office in these cities, the rising number of screens in smaller cities is also an important factor. By the end of 2014, there were 24,949 screens using digital projectors in China, a 35.6 percent year-on-year increase. This number continues to rise in 2015, with most of these screens located in smaller third- and fourth-tier cities.

Looking at the data, it seems the secret to winning the Spring Festival holiday box office is still blockbusters and light-hearted films that families can enjoy together in cinemas.

However, another contributing factor that may have helped ensure high box office returns for Dragon Blade, The Man from Macau 2 and Wolf Totem might come from the lack of strong competition, such as from foreign blockbusters, during this period.

No foreign films came out over the holiday period, while only two foreign films, Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and Big Hero 6, were released in February.

A successful franchise in China, the first two Hunger Games films earned  174 million and 176 million yuan respectively in the mainland market.

Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 was released on February 12, a full week ahead of the holiday rush, while Big Hero 6 released on Friday, a day before the end of the month.

All in all things continue to look up for Chinese films during the holiday period. As the market, especially in smaller cites, continues to expand, this will ensure an increase in demand and box office returns.