BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's weekly box office sales more than tripled last week to nearly 1 billion yuan (about 145 million U.S. dollars), as the world's second-largest box-office market gradually recovers.

China's box-office revenue for the seven days from Aug. 17 to 23 totaled 960 million yuan, up by 257 percent from the previous week's 269 million yuan, according to figures compiled by China Film News.

The number of moviegoers visiting theaters, meanwhile, rocketed to nearly 26 million, up from 8.5 million the previous week.

War epic "The Eight Hundred," which was formally released Friday after four consecutive days of preview screenings ending Thursday, contributed more than 80 percent to China's weekly box-office total, grossing 790 million yuan.

Disney and Pixar's animated fantasy adventure "Onward" scored about 18 million yuan last week in China, where it was released on Aug. 19.

Chinese movie theaters started to reopen on July 20 following months of closure due to COVID-19.