China's film box office to hit $4.9 bln in 2014

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WUHAN -- The Chinese box office is expected to hit 30 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) in 2014, according to China's film association.

The country's film box office reached 22 billion yuan in the Jan - Sept period, exceeding the total of 21.8 billion yuan last year, Wang Fenglin, vice president of the Chinese Film Producer's Association, said during a film industry expo on Sunday.

Home-made films accounted for 51.4 percent of the market while imported films were 48.6 percent. A total of 230 films were showed in mainstream cinemas in cities in the first nine months.

With the approach of such events as the popular Singles' Day (Nov 11) and Christmas, the box office of films is expected to reach 30 billion yuan for the full year, Wang said at the event in central China's Wuhan.

Wang attributed box office growth to the increasingly mature operation of the film industry and producers' increasing ability to make films that draw interest from audiences.

He said the Chinese film market will overtake the United States to become the largest in the world within three years as the numbers of screens and revenues are growing by 30 percent annually.