Deeper online research and analysis of big data showed that the children-themed Capernaum appealed more to a female audience, while more men watched Avengers: Endgame, according to a report by movie industry service app Beacon, which was also released during the Shanghai festival.

The Beacon report found that over 70 percent of the audience members who watched Capernaum were women, compared to around 40 percent for Avengers: Endgame.

With a bigger influence now than men on the movie market, women accounted for 51.8 percent of the theatergoing population last year, according to the report.

Given as examples, blockbusters Monster Hunt 2 and The Ex-file: The Return of Exes saw women account for 62 and 60.7 percent, respectively, of all theatergoers, says Liu.