Film box office revenues in 2005 have hit two billion yuan (about US$250 million) in the Chinese mainland as of Wednesday, an increase of 500 million yuan (some US$62.5 million) over the last year, according to the Chinese film's administration.

The first number is among the total revenue from the entire film industry of 4.8 billion yuan, a 1.2-billion-yuan growth over 2004, said Tong Gang, director of the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television on a press conference on Wednesday.

The overseas (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) revenue contributed to 1.65 billion with TV screening revenue in the mainland 1.15 billion, he said.

Audiovisual products of some home-made blockbusters, such as Chen Kaige's The Promise, Zhang Yimou's Riding Along for Thousands of Miles and The Myth starred in by Jackie Chan, have also been sold well due successful anti-piracy, he said.

In addition, new means of films' appearance, including releases on the Internet, mobile telephones, digital TV channels and adaptation into Internet games, have helped make more money, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2005)