BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's 2026 Spring Festival box office has surpassed 3 billion yuan (about 432 million U.S. dollars), with domestic racing-comedy "Pegasus 3" leading the market, according to Maoyan ticketing platform.

The Spring Festival holiday, running for nine days from Feb. 15 this year, is one of the most consequential windows in the world's second-largest film market. It accounted for nearly one-fifth of China's annual box office in both 2024 and 2025.

"Pegasus 3," the third installment in director Han Han's racing-comedy franchise starring Shen Teng, one of China's most bankable comedic actors, has generated over 1.6 billion yuan, accounting for about half of this season's total box office.

The first two films in the series were released during the 2019 and 2024 Spring Festival seasons, grossing a combined 5 billion yuan.

The series has earned audience trust through the strong reputation of its earlier installments, said Chen Jin, an analyst with movie data platform Beacon. But its ultimate box office performance still hinges on the film's quality, he added.

Spy thriller "Scare Out," directed by Zhang Yimou, ranked second on the chart, with box office earnings exceeding 500 million yuan to date. The movie centers on a leakage of classified military aviation data and follows a counterintelligence team as it navigates shifting loyalties and hidden betrayals.

Leveraging the surge in movie-going during the Spring Festival holiday, many regions across China, including Hunan and Jiangsu provinces, have rolled out measures to boost related spending, such as bundling movie tickets with shopping and dining vouchers. ■