China's box office sales jump 50 per cent to US$6 billion led by hits like Furious 7, Monster Hunt
Chinese films account for nearly 60 per cent of revenue this year, Film Bureau says
The mainland's box office has grown by almost 50 per cent so far this year to surpass US$6 billion in ticket sales, the Film Bureau said on Friday.
Box office sales hit 40 billion yuan (HK$48.38 billion) as of Thursday night, an increase of 48 per cent year-on-year.
The mainland is the world's No.2 movie-going market after the United States. The country has about 6,200 cinemas with more than 30,000 screens.
Chinese films accounted for 59 per cent of box office revenue, or 23.7 billion yuan. Domestic films are helped by authorities limiting the number of screens for foreign movies during prime movie-going holiday periods.
Among this year's top earners were and . The Chinese live-action animation film about a baby monster whose life is under threat became the country's biggest grossing movie of all time, pulling in more than 2.4 billion yuan.
Other foreign films that made a big splash on the mainland were , and .
It is the first time box office sales in the world's second largest film market have reached such a benchmark figure, according to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.
