This photo taken on Jan 23, 2023 shows people at a cinema in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's summer box office revenue, tracked from June 1 through Aug 31, has exceeded 1 billion yuan (about $139.86 million), hitting the milestone in the shortest time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country's total summer box office earnings amounted to 1.11 billion yuan by Tuesday morning, and this marks a significant increase in earnings compared to the same period for any year since 2020, according to movie data platform Maoyan.

The surge in box office growth reflects the gradual recovery of China's film industry from the impact of the pandemic, and industry observers are expecting a successful summer movie season

The surge in box office growth reflects the gradual recovery of China's film industry from the impact of the pandemic, and industry observers are expecting a successful summer movie season, which is the first since the country downgraded its COVID-19 measures earlier this year.

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Currently, the top two spots on China's summer box office chart belong to the US titles Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, with respective earnings of 303 million yuan and 250 million yuan to date.

However, many major Chinese titles are set to hit the big screen later this month, including crime thriller Lost in the Stars and romantic drama Love Never Ends. They will be joined in July by Creation of The Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, the first film in a highly anticipated live-action fantasy epic trilogy, and animated feature Chang'an San Wan Li.

China's summer movie season is set to sizzle with the debut of more than 80 new films, according to screening schedules updated on Tuesday. From comedy to suspense, art-house works to animated features, the diverse mix of offerings is poised to contribute to the sustained growth of the summer box office revenue.

Chen Xuguang, director of Peking University's Institute of Film, Television and Theatre, has voiced optimism for this summer's potential success.

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"With an impressive array of new releases scheduled, we can hope for a strong showing at China's summer box office," Chen said.