Industry News

Chinese cinema breaks box office record

China’s cinema industry has enjoyed a record year with box office takings having now passed the symbolic landmark of RMB50bn (£5.7bn/$7.5bn).

More than 1.45 million tickets have been purchased since the start of the year according to statistics provided by the National Film Ticketing Integrated Information Management System.

With more than a month until the end of the year, Chinese cinemas have already out-performed 2016, when RMB45.5bn was generated. This year’s gross data has not been adjusted to exclude the fees levied by online ticketing agencies.

The country’s combined box office income during 2017 is set to total $8.3bn (£6.3bn/€7.0bn) according to figures released at the 19th Party Congress by Zhang Hongsen, the Minister in charge of the media and culture.

Prior to the restructuring of the film industry in 2001-2, China’s box office was less than RMB1 billion. The 2017 data shows Chinese films enjoying a 52% market share.

Image: Celina Horan