China’s box office presales ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday have fallen sharply. By Saturday, ticket sales reached just over 200 million yuan (US$28.9 million). This is more than a 60 percent drop compared to about 600 million yuan during the same time last year. The decline was reported by Taopiaopiao, the online ticketing platform linked to Alibaba Pictures. Interestingly, the presales are driven exclusively by domestic Chinese films, with no boosts from foreign titles this year. This steep fall highlights challenges for China’s film industry during a crucial festive period.