Foreign films earned US$2.13 billion in China in 2014

The 67 foreign films screened in China in 2014 collected about 13.264 billion yuan (US$2.132 billion) at Chinese box offices, 47 percent higher than last year's revenues.

As Jiang Wen's "Gone with the Bullets" has taken over the Chinese film market, the last batch of imported foreign films, including the American war drama "Fury" starring by Brad Pitt and the South Korean war epic "The Admiral: Roaring Currents," are going to end their cinema runs.

Sohu.com reported that as of Dec. 18, the total box office gross (including both domestic and foreign films) in China for the year was about 27.3 billion yuan (US$4.39 billion). If "Gone with the Bullets" and "The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D," two blockbusters-to-be which open in mid and late December, perform well, the Chinese box office gross may break the 30 billion yuan (US$4.82 billion) mark.

A total of 34 foreign films – 20 standard films (2D films) and 14 special format films (IMAX and 3D films) – were screened in China this year, completely fulfilling the annual foreign film import quota that has been in place since 2012. Foreign studios, mostly Hollywood studios, are allowed a 25 percent share of the total gross of these films. These kinds of profit-sharing films grossed a combined 11.2 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) in China.

In addition to those 34 films, another 33 foreign films, mostly older or small-budget movies, had to enter the Chinese market as buyout films. This means that Chinese distributors paid foreign studios for the rights to show the film in China, and then all the profits, good or bad, belonged to the Chinese distributors. Buyout films grossed a total of 2.033 billion yuan (US$326.6 million) in China this year. The best performer was "The Expendables 3," which grossed 453 million yuan (US$72.8 million) in the country.

According to the annual statistics, "Transformers: Age of Extinction," directed by Michael Bay, is the number one film of the year and of all time in China. The movie, which was shot in Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong with the help of Chinese partners, broke nearly all Chinese box office records. It grossed 1.978 billion yuan (US$317.7 million) in China alone, even more than what it grossed in the United States (US$245.43 million). The second foreign film on the China charts is "Interstellar" by Christopher Nolan, which grossed 753 million yuan (US$121.17 million), a standout performance and Nolan's highest grossing film in China yet.

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" also made more than 700 million yuan (US$112.4 million) at Chinese box offices, while "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" all made more than 500 million yuan (US$80.32 million).

The lowest-grossing foreign film was "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," which made only 700,000 yuan (US$112,449) at box offices.

Only 33 profit-sharing foreign films actually screened in China in 2014, since the release date of the last one, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1," was postponed to January 2015 after the film received its screening permit.

Of all 67 foreign films, 43 were American. Together, they grossed 12.4 billion yuan (US$1.99 billion) and took up 93 percent of the total gross of all foreign films. The French film "Lucy" by Luc Besson and the French-Canadian action film "Brick Mansions," which stars the late Paul Walker and is a remake of a Luc Besson classic, also performed well, taking in 275 million yuan (US$44.17 million) and 188 million yuan (US$30.2 million), respectively.

It is interesting to note that science fiction movies (including superhero films) had the most pull with Chinese moviegoers. Eighteen foreign sci-fi flicks grossed a total of 8.5 billion yuan (US$1.36 billion) in China, taking up 64 percent of the box office gross of all foreign films. Among the Hollywood giants, Paramount Pictures, which grossed 2.6 billion yuan (US$417.7 million) from all its releases in China, was the biggest winner due to the crazy performance of "Transformers: Age of Extinction."

Although China is the second-biggest movie market in world, second only to the United States, only a few Chinese films were exported in 2014. Two of the highest-grossing Chinese movies, "Breakup Buddies," which grossed more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$176 million), and "But Always," only took in US$540,000 and US$340,000 in the US, respectively.