China box office tops N. American market in first quarter

Shanghai: China surpassed North America to become the world´s largest movie market during the first quarter of 2018, fuelled in part by big-grossing domestic films, according to US and Chinese box-office figures.

China´s movie market made 20.21 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) between January and March, according to the China Movie Data Information Network, while US trade journal Variety said the North America box office reached $2.85 billion.

Almost three quarters of the revenue -- 15 billion yuan -- came from Chinese-produced movies, the China data showed.

Of the top 10 films watched in China during the first quarter, seven were domestically produced, and Chinese-made movies occupied the top five slots.

Military blockbuster "Operation Red Sea" was the top-grossing film in China during the period, with a take of 3.6 billion yuan.

Along with action film "Detective Chinatown 2" and the fantasy genre "Monster Hunt", the three Chinese movies accounted for almost half of China´s total box office during the first quarter.

US super-hero film "Black Panther" and sci-fi flick "Pacific Rim Uprising" did well after their releases in China, moving up to second and third in the March-only box office.

The Chinese numbers were also boosted by movie-goers flocking to cinemas during the extended Lunar New Year holiday in February.

China´s box-office revenues surged in 2017 after slowing sharply the preceding year, official media reported in January.

Ticket revenue grew 13.45 percent to 55.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) in 2017, state-run news agency Xinhua had said, citing data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Hollywood has a keen eye on China´s potentially lucrative movie market, although Beijing strictly limits the number of foreign films that can be released in Chinese cinemas.

China also takes measures to help boost domestic films´ performance, including limiting the screening of foreign films during peak seasons and rewarding cinemas for playing more domestic titles.