China's box office: 1st 2 months' of 2016 exceed 10 billion Yuan
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E-mail CNTV, March 1, 2016
China's movie box-office is on course for another record year in 2016, having notched up more than 10 billion yuan in ticket sales in the first two months of this year. That's on TOP of a 50 percent boost in ticket sales in 2015 to 44 billion yuan.
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Hong Kong hitmaker Stephen Chow's latest comedy 'Mermaid' helped fuel the historic total. The literal fish-out-of-water rom-com has raked in more than 3 billion yuan - or more than 450 million dollars - becoming the top-grossing film ever in China. |
The Year of the Monkey is off to a blockbuster start for Chinese cinemas.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, national box-office sales hit 660 million yuan, or more than 100 million U.S. dollars. That performance smashed the single-day record of 425 million yuan set six months ago.
Over the course of that New-Year week, ticket sales in China went on to break the world record for a seven-day period, tallying $548 million. That's compared with the previous record of $530 million set in North America's Christmas week with the help of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'.
What's more, there's no sign China is slowing down.
"The attendance rates are still high now. The hot movies during the 7-day haul such as 'Mermaid', 'From Vegas to Macau III', 'The Monkey King 2', and 'Kung Fu Panda 3' are still drawing huge crowds to the cinema. And as there will be more domestic films, as well as imported Hollywood blockbusters, set to hit the big screen, I believe the momentum is good," said Cao Yong, Beijing UME International Cineplex.
Hong Kong hitmaker Stephen Chow's latest comedy 'Mermaid' helped fuel the historic total. The literal fish-out-of-water rom-com has raked in more than 3 billion yuan - or more than 450 million dollars - becoming the top-grossing film ever in China.
Meanwhile, Wong Jing's and Andy Lau's 'From Vegas to Macau III' raced past the $100 million mark, as did blockbuster fantasy sequel 'The Monkey King 2' and U.S.-China co-production, 'Kung Fu Panda 3'.
In the first two months of 2016 alone, China's total box-office revenue surpassed 10 billion Yuan - or 1.5 billion dollars. That's more than the tally for the whole year just a decade ago.
"Actually, I'm not surprised at all. The movie industry in China has seen tremendous growth in recent years. Ten billion yuan in two months, it's a significant number, but what's more important is that the films are very diverse, and the quality of films is very good. I believe our domestic productions can give the Hollywood blockbusters a run for their money," Cao said.
And many more highly anticipated releases are in the wings - including Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen's 'Ip Man 3'; director Zhang Yimou's 'The Great Wall'; Disney's animation feature 'Zootopia'; 'Captain America: Civil War'; and 'Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice'.
Industry observers estimate that China's total box-office revenue in 2016 could exceed 60 billion Yuan.
China's movie box office smashed the world's seven-day revenue record for a single territory. It was a feat largely fuelled by domestic productions. Well into the Year of the Monkey, the box office is still going strong. Many believe China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world's biggest film market by next year.
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