BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China's box office revenue for the summer movie season, which runs from June 1 to Aug. 31, has reached nearly 8.79 billion yuan (about 1.23 billion U.S. dollars) as of July 16.

According to box office tracker Dengta Data, this year's box office earnings, from June 1 to July 16, have set a new record compared to the earnings during the same period.

The previous record for the first half of the summer season was set in 2018 with a box office revenue of 7.32 billion yuan.

Currently, the top two spots on China's summer box office chart are held by the Chinese suspense crime film "Lost in the Stars" and the drama film "Never Say Never," also known as "Octagonal," with respective earnings of 3.36 billion yuan and 1.50 billion yuan.

More Chinese productions are slated to hit the big screen later this month, including the mythological film "Creation of The Gods I" and the comedy "Advancing of ZQ." The foreign blockbuster "Meg 2: The Trench" will also be an option for Chinese cinema-goers this summer.

China's summer movie season is set to sizzle with the releases of more than 110 new films, according to screening schedules. Industry observers are expecting the summer box office to hit the 15-billion-yuan threshold.