A couple in Beijing look over a poster for the movie Let the Bullets Fly. To keep up with demand in movie theaters, 27 percent more screens have been added this year. [Photo / China Daily]
BEIJING - With Christmas coming, who has the busiest job right now? Most of us would say Santa Claus, but ticket sellers at cinemas may be just as busy with the large crowds pouring into movie theaters.
Chinese audiences' passion for going to the movies continues to rise, especially in holiday seasons, a key factor in the current rush of moviegoers.
Box office receipts totaled 9.5 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) as of Dec 22 on the Chinese mainland and are expected to reach 10.2 billion yuan for the year, due to the recent release of two blockbusters - Let the Bullets Fly and If You Are the One 2, according to the Entgroup Consulting Group, a leading Chinese research and consulting company specializing in the entertainment industry.
Box office receipts grossed 4.3 billion yuan in 2008 and rose to 6.2 billion yuan in 2009, a nearly 43 percent year-on-year increase, statistics from the State Administration of Radio, Television (SARFT) show. The 2010 receipts will rise 64.3 percent year-on-year, if Entgroups' prediction is borne out.
This year saw 24 imported films, grossing together about 2.8 billion yuan. Hollywood's Avatar contributed 1.4 billion yuan and Inception 456 million yuan to that figure, according to statistics released by SARFT and the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association (CFDEA).
As for Chinese movies, Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock set a domestic market record with 660 million yuan at the box office. His If You Are the One 2 and Jiang Wen's Let the Bullets Fly are expected to dominate the Christmas season with continuous strong showings at the box office.
"The burgeoning Chinese film industry has benefited enormously from fast growth in the number of screens," said Yang Buting, chairman of China Film Promotion International and CFDEA.
The number of screens has gone up to about 6,000 this year, compared with 4,723 in 2009, a year-on-year growth of 27 percent, Yang said.
