Record-holders in China's movie market are on edge this summer as domestic movies threaten their box office glory.
The latest numbers show domestic live-action animation "Monster Hunt" was pushing 2.05 billion yuan (320 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales, just short of the 2.4 billion yuan that earned U.S. action-racer "Furious 7" the top spot in April.
When "Furious 7" achieved the record it almost doubled the 1.3 billion of previous holder "Avatar", leaving China's movie industry in awe of Hollywood.
But seeing the earning power of homegrown films such as "Monster Hunt", which tells the story of Huba, a monster on a mission to stop all-out war, has bolstered China's movie industry.
It's not alone in obtaining ticket sales that, not too long ago, domestic movies could only dream of.
"Monkey King: Hero is Back", an animated feature film, recently dethroned "Kung Fu Panda 2" to become the highest grossing animated film in China. Another big earner, "Jian Bing Man", made more than one billion yuan, even though it is the first work of director Dong Chengpeng.
"What we have achieved now is in large part due to more new moviegoers, especially in small cities, and to the increase of investment in the movie industry," Rao Shuguang, secretary general of China Film Association, said.
A game-changing moment for domestic films is on the horizon, he said.
It is hard to measure how much domestic films have benefitted from the absence of Hollywood blockbusters during the July-August period where typically only Chinese films are shown. The two month protective period has become such a tradition that upcoming releases "Ant-Man" and "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" were delayed until September, doubtless boosting summer domestic film audiences.
According to Maoyan.com, a movie ticket sales platform, China now has more than 23,600 movie screens, most of which were added in the last two years. Back in 2010, there were only 5,000 screens.
The participation of Chinese Internet firms such Alibaba and Baidu has also helped cultivate moviegoing habits.
