China box office posts turnaround in 2017 with 13 pct growth
The world's second-biggest movie market after the United States had $8.6 billion in box office revenue for 2017. China is looking to top that in 2018 with more hits like 'Wolf Warrior 2' and more than 50,000 screens nationwide.
A publicity still for Wolf Warrior 2, with Wu Jing as action hero Leng Feng.
China's movie box office revenue rose 13.5 percent last year to $8.6 billion (56 billion yuan), more than tripling the 2016 growth rate as foreign films won a larger share of ticket sales compared to the previous year, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.
Domestic films recorded ticket sales of $4.6 billion in 2017, accounting for 54 percent of total box office, Xinhua said, citing data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. Domestic films in 2016 accounted for 58 percent of total box office.
China is the second-largest movie market globally after the United States, though it already has more movie screens after years of rapid expansion in theatre networks.
China added 9,597 screens last year to reach 50,776 in total, the media regulator said. That compares to just over 40,000 screens in the United States, according to data from US-based National Association of Theatre Owners.
The movie 'Wolf Warrior 2' was China's highest-grossing film last year, raking in $855 million in ticket sales.
After disappointing box office growth in 2016, regulators announced that all sales grosses would include service fees for each ticket purchased online. This boosted last year's growth, although moviemakers see little of the additional revenue.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.