(Yicai) Feb. 13 -- China's box office has grossed over CNY170 million (USD24.6 million) in presales for the upcoming nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, with the figure exceeding CNY100 million for the first day of the year on Feb. 17.

Comedy flick Pegasus 3 leads with its presales box office exceeding CNY64 million (USD9.3 million) for the holiday that starts Feb. 15 as of yesterday, according to data from Lighthouse Professional Edition. Scare Out, a spy thriller directed by Zhang Yimou, was second with over CNY41 million.

This year's Chinese New Year holiday is a "competition among multiple strong contenders," said Lai Li, a market analyst at Maoyan Entertainment. Although it appears there will be no super blockbuster like Ne Zha 2 last year, overall ticket presales have been relatively stable based on the results from the first few days, Lai noted.

China's Lunar New Year box office has climbed steadily, surging more than 5.5 times to a record CNY9.5 billion (USD1.4 billion) last year from 2014, noted Chen Jin, an analyst at Lighthouse. Driven by Ne Zha 2, the 2025 holiday highlighted the explosive potential of the domestic film market, Chen stressed.

Regarding presale ticket cost, the average price for this year's Lunar New Year holiday is CNY48.70 (USD7.06), the lowest in five years, according to data from Maoyan Professional Edition.

Prices might be down due to the relatively shorter average runtime of films this year compared to previous years, but also because movies do not heavily rely on high-priced special cinema rooms, Lai pointed out. Lower ticket cost holds greater appeal for audiences, leading to a stronger willingness to go to the theaters, Lai added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev