As the world's second-largest movie market, China's nearly 70,000 screens earned a stunning box office total of 64.3 billion yuan ($9.23 billion), rising 5.4 percent from the 61 billion yuan recorded last year, according to latest figures from China Film Administration, the country's top sector regulator.
Domestic films earned 41.2 billion yuan, up 8.65 percent year-on-year. The Chinese films' takings accounted for 64.07 percent of the box office total. The admissions in urban cinemas reached 1.73 billion, and the year of 2019 saw 9,708 new screens built in China. A total of 1,037 films were produced in 2019, including 850 dramas, 51 animated films, 74 science and education films, 47 documentaries, and 15 special films. In total, 88 films saw their box office takings cross 100 million yuan, among which 47 were made by China.
With a whooping box office taking of up to 5 billion yuan, Ne Zha became the highest-grossing film of the year.
For most industry analysts, the animated feature retelling the title Chinese mythological figure has renewed traditional culture in an appealing and modern value-driven way.
Aside from Ne Zha, which changed the slowdown in summer, three blockbusters -- My People, My Country, The Captain and The Climbers -- boosted the unprecedented market prosperity in the history of National Day holiday box office season.
The Wandering Earth, the second-highest film this year, is widely regarded as opening a new chapter for the longtime struggling domestic sci-fi movies.
"China's film market is breaking records and bringing surprise every day, every minute and even every second, showing the great potential of this industry," Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, said.
"It's widely agreed that the Chinese film industry is undergoing a reshuffling, providing the potential to have more quality movies," he adds.
Source: By Xu Fan and Wang Ru | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2019-12-31 19:57