Big-screen battle

Typically, Monkey King movies attract a family audience, but the new film may not do so as the story is about a restrained, bittersweet love affair, says Jiang Yong, a Beijing-based industry analyst.

As for which films he thinks will do well this year, he says: "Monster Hunt 2 may surpass the record held by The Mermaid (Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow's smash hit in 2016) to become the champion of this Spring Festival, as all its rivals are not family-friendly enough to appeal an all-age audience."

Boonie Bears: The Big Shrink, the fifth installment of the popular Boonie Bears franchise, has the fifth slot in the holiday box-office stakes for now.

While the story is about the two talking bear brothers, and the franchise is popular with children, the film does not seem to be too popular with parents looking for a movie which straddles the generations.

For comedy fans, The Face of My Gene, comedian Guo Degang's directorial debut, is the film to see.

The movie, now in the sixth slot of the charts, has a cast of more than 30 veteran actors, including Wolf Warrior franchise filmmaker-actor Wu Jing and Finding Mr Right's lead Wu Xiubo.

It's still an open question about who will be the final winner when the world's second-largest movie market is celebrating its most valued festival. But one thing is clear: the "battle" for big screen has broken out.