Blockbusters soar at China box office(2)

Homegrown blockbusters that did well during the Spring Festival include Dragon Blade, Wolf Totem and The Man from Macao II. (Photo/China Daily)

Although China's dominance came much sooner than predicted, some industry insiders think the Chinese movie market is not as mature as its American counterpart and it is too early to celebrate.

"The achievement is positive. But it is not entirely accurate to say that China has already beaten the US," says Cheng Jiaqi, managing director of Fundamental Films, a Shanghai-based firm with close ties to the North American and European markets.

Cheng says that the Chinese market needs more blockbusters tailored for local audiences, and added that many people in small-and medium-sized cities are not yet used to going to see films on the big screen.

The veteran film insider says comedy may become one of the dominant genres at the box office in the coming years.

"Comedy films with dialogue and plots close to normal people's lives easily strike a chord in third-and fourth-tier cities. It can encourage more moviegoers from these areas to go to the local cinemas. Meanwhile, laughing helps to ease stress and pressure, which is a problem familiar to residents in big cities'," says Cheng.

"Take Lost in Thailand, it is an inspiring example for domestic moviemakers to recognize the concept of making a production tailored for the market," Cheng says. "It precisely calculated the timing and number of laughs in the screenplay based on audiences' reaction."

The Thailand-travel-themed comedy with a tiny budget of 30 million yuan took in a record-breaking 1.26 billion in 2012, making it one of the highest-grossing homegrown blockbusters.

Some industry insiders credit the February accomplishment to the rise of new cinemas and the booming Internet industry.

"Online ticket sales made up about 50 percent of the entire market in 2014, up from 20 percent the previous year," says Jiang Chunyang, CEO of the online ticketing service wangpiao.com, one of the earliest of its kind.

"More and more Web surfers, who used to watch blockbusters on streaming-video sites, have changed and started flocking to cinemas. Some even go to the movies as part of their regular weekend or holiday entertainment," he says. "More cinemas and screens added last year also made it more convenient for people to visit nearby theaters."

According to figures released by the country's top regulator of the sector, China added 1,015 cinemas and 5,397 screens in 2014, bringing the total number of screens to 23,600. Last year, In 2014, box office returns in China surged 36 percent, hitting a record of 29.6 billion yuan.