China’s Christmas Eve box office falls to a 13-year low.

BEIJING (Reuters) — China’s box office revenues on Christmas Eve fell to their lowest level in at least 13 years, according to figures from ticket booking site Maoyan released on Wednesday.

Zhang Yiwu, a literature professor at Peking University, ascribed the fall to a combination of causes, including an underwhelming film selection and the development of streaming platforms.

Tuesday’s takings were 38.4 million yuan ($5.26 million), less than a quarter of last year’s 170.5 million yuan and the lowest since Maoyan began keeping statistics in 2011, when revenues were 115.9 million yuan.

Christmas Eve is not an official holiday in China, and the most important dates on movie calendars are the week-long Spring Festival next month and the National Day holiday in October, but Christmas Eve sales are widely followed because it is the final sprint of the year.

Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, China’s yearly film box office was on an increasing trend, culminating in 2019. However, the pandemic’s limits on gatherings caused a drop in box sales, and the rebound has been weaker than insiders expected during the last two years.