BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- China's 2021 box office revenue has exceeded 16 billion yuan (2.46 billion U.S. dollars) as of Saturday morning.

The figure surpassed 15.3 billion yuan that was generated during the same period in 2019, data compiled by box office tracker Maoyan showed.

It equaled more than three-fourths of the total ticket sales for the whole year of 2020.

Comedian and actress Jia Ling's maiden directorial project "Hi, Mom" and Wanda Pictures' comedy "Detective Chinatown 3," led the 2021 chart compiled by the China Movie Data Information Network, contributing 31 percent and 27 percent of the total, respectively.

Both films are among the seven domestic titles that hit Chinese theaters during the Spring Festival holiday.

The top nine earners on the 2021 chart are all domestic productions.

Coming in tenth is the U.S. animated comedy "Soul," which contributed about 297 million yuan or 1.8 percent of the yearly total.