Tong Gang, director of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said Wednesday that within less than three years, China's film market would see a great leap forward and a multi-tier ticket sale system catering to different income levels.

The ticket price in recent years has been from about 40 yuan (US$4.8) to 80 yuan. According to Tong, many audiences have shunned cinemas because of high ticket prices.

He said the root of the problem was shortage of resources, such as an insufficient number of cinemas.

Tong believed that more capital from the government, private investors and from overseas should be allowed to go into the cinema industry.

With the number of cinemas increased and more competition, film ticket prices will be pushed down to a reasonable level.

On the other hand, according to Tong, there should be more good films to meet the needs of different audience. Better films will help attract more people into cinemas.

Statistics show that since three years ago, the number of films produced in China has increased from 100 in 2002 to 212 this year. Meanwhile, the quality of the films has also been improving.

For three years, the annual top box-office revenue has all been achieved by homemade films. Before that, American films topped China's box-office ticket sales.

(Shenzhen Daily December 17,2004)