Chinese films dominate Q1 mainland box office

Chinese films made a strong comeback from last year's losing battle with foreign flicks, taking in 69 percent of mainland box office revenues in the first quarter.

Statistics from the film bureau under the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television show that Chinese films raked in 3.6 billion yuan in the first quarter, with six films passing the 100-million-yuan mark.

"Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," a period adventure comedy created by writer-director Stephen Chow, topped the list with 1.25 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, only "Skyfall" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" raked in more than 300 million yuan each in the foreign film category, followed by "A Good Day to Die Hard," "Cloud Atlas," and "Resident Evil: Retribution" -- all of which surpassed 100 million yuan.

Chinese films fared much more poorly in the first quarter of 2012, when four foreign films took in 56 percent of total sales.

Chinese films also lost the year-end box office battle, taking in 48 percent of full-year revenues for 2012.

Zhang Hongsen, head of the bureau, attributed the results to the homogeneous tendency of imported foreign films, which are gradually losing appeal for Chinese audiences.

Zhang also stressed growing contributions from theaters in smaller cities, where local residents "might not be as interested in Hollywood blockbusters as their metropolitan counterparts are."