Silver Screening online films

A scene from Golden Globe nominee, The Theory of Everything. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese video websites increasingly enable audiences in the country to easily view more Western movies sooner after their overseas releases. 

Hollywood moved closer to China in a new way when this year's Golden Globes gala was telecast live for the first time in the country by Hunan Satellite Channel's Hunantv.com.

Millions of mostly young viewers tuned in－make that logged on－showing the country's love of Western TV and film.

Boyhood became the biggest talking point in China. The film has been shown since August on major Chinese video websites like iQiyi.com. It has been viewed more than 1.1 million times on Tencent Video.

Nearly 43,600 users of China's largest film-review site Douban.com rated it 8.6 out of 10.

Shanghai University film studies graduate Liu Xinpei is excited about the proliferation of such online video sites.

The suspense-movie fan, who adores director Danny Boyle, constantly tracks film festivals and reads about award winners and new releases. But most aren't screened in Chinese cinemas, are expensive to order on DVD from overseas and are difficult to pirate since many illegal download sites have been shut down.

Video sites offer an expanding bank of movies like Boyhood that she can watch for as little as 5 yuan (81 cents). She appreciates the coming-of-age story's incorporation of pop songs to ensure fluid transitions, she says.

Four Golden Globe nominees are available on iQiyi, including The Theory of Everything and Maps to the Stars.