China

CHINESE CINEMA IN 2005: A YEAR IN REVIEW

General Picture: A Robust Year

Chinese cinema celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2005, and it has every reason to be in a celebratory mood as that year saw 260 films officially stamped for release, a record number since television began to dominate the Chinese entertainment market in the early 1980s. The Chinese economy grew 9.8% in 2005, but the output of Chinese films increased 22.6% in the same year, far exceeding the overall performance of Chinese economy. In quantity, Chinese cinema ranks the third in the world after Hollywood and Bollywood.

Box-office also increased. Chinese cinema made more than two billion yuan (around $250 million US) in 2005, a 33% increase compared to the figure in 2004. More significantly, domestic films made up 60% of the total box-office gross, surpassing that of the imports (mainly from Hollywood) for the third consecutive year...

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