Regardless of the reason for bigger earnings, experts agree the quality of Chinese homegrown movies has improved.
Both "Monster Hunt" and "Hero is Back" have broken an embarrassing pattern for domestic movies, in which films earn well, but are criticised harshly for being poor.
And "Monster Hunt" faced pressure from more than just critics.
Kai Ko, who played a leading role in "Monster Hunt" was arrested on drug abuse charges during filming, forcing the producing company to replace him and re-shoots scenes due to a regulation banning scandal-involved celebrities from TV and film. It cost the company another 70 million yuan, according to media reports.
Such a move was hailed as "bona fide production".
Yin Hong, director of the center for film and television at Tsinghua University, said "Monster Hunt" deserved to be a new benchmark of Chinese movies. "We hope we can have a 'Monster' series movie that can compete with 'Minions'."
In "Hero is Back", the power of word-of-mouth is more evident. Fans are so enthusiastic they have begun calling themselves "zilaishuijun," or "tap water army" - a play on "water army", or people who are paid to post good comments on websites.
Members of the so-called army would even buy tickets for others or watch the movie several times, just to show their pride in the animated feature film.
"Chinese viewers have been used to flop movies, so took every opportunity to show love when a quality one appeared," said Rao, adding the emergence of "tap water army" not only elevates the popularity of the film, but also set high bar for other homegrown movies.
But still, some urge caution and a cool mind after box office frenzy.
"Hollywood movies are not paper tigers," Rao said, referring to a famous quote from Mao Zedong meaning something that seems threatening but is flimsy, or presents no challenges.
"We will see in September and October how homegrown films perform,"
He noted that Hollywood is very flexible when adapting to the Chinese film market.
Zhang Hongsen, head of the film bureau under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, shared a similar view when attending the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival in June. "After all, it is still the audience that needs to be thanked," said Zhang.
We must have a sober understanding that the numbers are not falling from the skies but are bestowed upon us. Behind every cold number, there is a warm movie-loving heart," said Zhang.
