Across The Border | China’s box office to get back on track thanks to subsidies, more screens in smaller cities

China’s cinemas got off to a strong start in the Year of the Rooster, with box office sales up 10 per cent to a record high during the Lunar New Year holiday, according to official data.

The impressive performance was partially driven by a return of ticket subsidies offered by film distributors and online agencies, industry experts say.

Some analysts expect China’s box office revenue to resume strong growth after a sluggish 2016, as an increasing number of screens in smaller cities will help foster an active film-going culture among the mainland’s vast population.

Gross box office revenue for the Lunar New Year holiday, from January 27 to February 2, hit a new all-time high of 3.35 billion yuan, according to statistics from the General Administration of Press and Publication, China’s state film regulator. That was up 10 per cent from the same period in 2016, when cinemas raked in a 3.05 billion yuan, a record at the time.

The latest figures took many industry watchers by surprise, after the country’s box office recently posted the weakest annual growth in a decade..