BEIJING: China’s movie box office revenue rose 13.45 per cent last year to 55.91 billion yuan ($8.59 billion), more than tripling the 2016 growth rate as foreign films won a larger share of ticket sales compared to the previous year, said the Xinhua News Agency.

Domestic films recorded ticket sales of 30.1 billion yuan in 2017, accounting for 54 per cent of total box office, Xinhua reported, citing data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. Domestic films in 2016 accounted for 58 per cent of total box office.

China is the second-largest movie market globally after the United States, though it already has more total 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 5.68 billion yuan 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.

With an annual box office revenue of about 2.74 billion US dollars, China overtook Japan in terms of global cinema market size in 2012, second only to the United States with box office revenues of then 10.8 billion US dollars. The proliferation of China’s cinema market coincided with an extensive increase in per capita income. Going to the movies has become a regular part of Chinese leisure activities and consumption, especially among young people.

To cope with the demands of an increasingly wealthy population, the number of cinema screens expanded more than four times from 2007 to 2013. 3D movie screens also enjoyed an explosive growth during this period. As of 2013, more than 18,000 3D movie screens were in operation in China, accounting for one third of the global total.

China’s film industry is under direct supervision of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). To protect the local movie industry, only a limited number of foreign movies are allowed to screen in China each year. The quota was set at 34 movies in 2013. Despite the restriction on foreign films, Hollywood movies comprised almost half of the ten highest-grossing movies in China as of April 2014. In 2014, foreign movies accounted for about 45 per cent of overall ticket sales in China.

China is the world’s second-largest movie market after the United States, though it has more movie screens after years of rapid expansion in the sector. It added 9,597 screens last year, taking the total to 50,776, the media regulator said. That compares to just over 40,000 screens in the US, according to data from US-based National Association of Theatre Owners.

Agencies