MUMBAI: Box office collection of Hollywood films in China continues to surge but local media say it‘s "embarrassing" that local films barely figure in the top 10.
Box office in the Country grew 35 per cent in the first half of year to 7.74 billion yuan ($1.22 billion), and nine of the top 10 titles were from outside China. Foreign films look likely to continue to reap the lion‘s share of Chinese BO thanks to the recently increased quota for imports of premium films.
The highest-grossing film so far this year, according to Chinese media reports, was the 3D release of Titanic that grossed $153 million; it‘s third on the list of all-time top earners behind Avatar and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
With grosses expected to reach $5 billion by 2015, China‘s B.O. total could equal US and Canada‘s $10 billion annually by 2020. Other Hollywood titles in the top 10 included Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, Battleship, The Avengers and Men in Black 3.
Though The Hunger Games missed the Chinese top 10, with nearly $25 million after four weeks locally, the film still shows the potential of non-studio films that are usually released outside summer.
Warner Bros.‘ Wrath of the Titans, that made $25.4 million in China, was the first film to benefit from the country‘s higher revenue-sharing ratio.