China’s box office revenue for the summer movie season, which runs from June 1 to Aug. 31, has exceeded 7 billion yuan (about 975 million U.S. dollars) as of Wednesday. Data from box office tracker Maoyan shows that the country’s total summer box office earnings had amounted to 7.4 billion yuan thus far. The total revenue generated during the three-month period in 2022 and 2021 was 9.14 billion yuan and 7.38 billion yuan, respectively. Currently, the top two spots on China’s summer box office chart belong to the Chinese suspense crime film “Lost in the Stars” and drama film “Never Say Never,” also known as “Octagonal,” with respective earnings of 3.18 billion yuan and 1.04 billion yuan to date. More Chinese productions are slated to hit the big screen later this month, including mythological film “Creation of The Gods I” and comedy “Advancing of ZQ.” Foreign blockbusters “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Meg 2: The Trench” will also be options for Chinese cinema-goers this summer. China’s summer movie season is set to sizzle with the debuts of more than 110 new films, according to screening schedules updated on Tuesday. Industry observers are expecting the summer box office to hit the 15-billion-yuan threshold.