Chinese box office takings reach 13 bln yuan in 2011

China's film industry made over 13.1 billion yuan (2.07 billion U.S. dollars) in box office takings in 2011, an increase of 28.93 percent from 2010, a film official said on Monday.

In 2011, the country made 791 domestic films of various kinds and these movies took in 7.03 billion yuan in box office earnings, about 53.6 percent of total ticket sales, said Tong Gang, head of the movie bureau at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Domestic production of blockbusters has become more mature, with remarkable improvements in quality, Tong said, taking the recent success of famed director Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War" as an example.

Moreover, China's film industry has promoted small-budget films, including romantic comedy "Love is Not Blind", which has swept a box office receipt of 350 million yuan despite costing less than ten million yuan to produce, Tong added.

In 2011, China had 20 domestic films that made over 100 million yuan each in ticket sales. Also, with the successes of the small-budget films, the market is getting more diversified, and filmmakers of a younger generation are starting to make their mark, he said.

According to Tong, China recorded an average daily increase of 8.3 new cinema screens this year, and by the end of 2011, the number of screens in cities nationwide had exceeded 9,200.

Moreover, around 803 cinemas have been opened this year, 90 percent of which have equipped with digital projectors.

Furthermore, the country is working to bring movies to residents in rural areas. As of the end of 2011, China has arranged over 8 million film screening in rural areas.

However, Tong noted that despite the surge in the domestic market, the box office income of Chinese films in overseas markets was smaller compared to that in 2010, reaping only 2.05 billion yuan and indicating a stall in the industry's international competitiveness.