With China increasingly becoming an attractive market for foreign film producers, including those from India, the country aims to have over 60,000 cinema screens by 2020 to make it the world largest film market, a top official said.
This year, some foreign films, including Indian blockbuster "Dangal", raked in higher box office collections in China than in their own country.
By 2020, China is likely to produce around 800 films each year and the annual box office collection is expected to be around 70 billion yuan (USD 10.6 billion), Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
It is possible that China will become the world's new film production centre, Zhang added.
According to SAPPRFT, last week, the box office collection in China exceeded 50 billion yuan (USD 7 billion) this year, it is the first time that the country has broken the 50-billion mark in box office taking.
The box office collection for domestic movies reached 26.2 billion yuan, accounting for 52.4 per cent of the total earning.
The Amir Khan-starrer 'Dangal' raked up over Rs 1,100 crore since its release in China in May. The movie has created history by becoming only 33 film in China's history to have collected over RMB one billion. It was played in over 7,000 screens across China for over two months.
It also won praise from President Xi Jinping and other top Chinese leaders. Many schools in China have recommended their students and their parents to watch the film.
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