Govt denies reported increase in China’s foreign film quota

China's governing film body has denied an American newspaper report that said it will raise its quota for importing foreign movies.

The Hollywood Reporter reported Sunday that the "Film Bureau in Beijing looks set to raise the quota of foreign movies allowed into China by 10 movies to 44 films."

The report said it was "a sign of growing openness in the world's second-biggest box-office market."

However, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television denied the report on Monday, according to a report by news portal sohu.com.

"There isn't such a thing, the quota is still 34," an anonymous source told sohu.com.

In February 2012, China raised the number of overseas movies allowed to screen in China by 14 to 34 on a revenue-sharing basis, making way for more 3D and IMAX titles.

The agreement also allowed American producers to take 25 percent of movie revenues, instead of the 13 percent allowed in the past.

Total box office revenue in China in 2012 was around 17 billion yuan ($2.8 billion), with local movies accounting for 48.46 percent.

It was the first time in the 10 years that local products had made less than overseas films, sohu.com reported.

Chinese movies bounced back the following year though, taking over 60 percent of box office revenue, according to media reports.

Hollywood has lobbied hard for the import quota to be lifted completely, saying it breaches rules on trade which were a condition of China's membership in the WTO.

The Hollywood Reporter said the quota could be raised as soon as March, when China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), gathers in Beijing.