Box-office takings in the Chinese mainland have topped 30 billion yuan ($4.71 billion) so far this year, overtaking the total for the whole of 2014 as the country's cinema market continues its rapid climb, data showed on Monday.
The figure, which exceeds the total for last year by 48.5 percent, means the nation's box office is on track to hit 40 billion yuan this year, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).
The allure of China's box office has become increasingly difficult to resist for global film makers from Sony Corp to Walt Disney Co.
In November, the vice-president of the China Film Producers' Association, Wang Fenglin, said the Chinese film market would overtake that of the US to become the largest in the world within three years.
Box-office receipts in the US and Canada combined fell 5 percent in 2014 but still hit $10.4 billion, according to the Motion Picture Association of America Inc.
China's takings jumped 34 percent in the same period.
While foreign films still often top China's box office charts - action flick Furious 7 currently holds the No.1 spot - Chinese movies have raked in 18 billion yuan so far this year, 60 percent of the total, Xinhua reported SARFT as saying.
Chinese blockbuster Monster Hunt, China's highest-grossing film ever, is also likely to steal the top spot after raking in 2.4 billion yuan since its debut on July 16, Xinhua said.
China's box-office lure has also led some studios to remove scenes from their films and add characters to appeal more to the Chinese market.
