China’s gross box office reached a six-year high in 2009, up 43% on 2008, thanks to a boom in the multiplex construction and a fast-growing trend to build shopping malls alongside cinemas.
A trip to the cinema before or after shopping has become the leisure activity of choice for the country’s burgeoning middle class.
A trop of films passed the RMB400 mark - around $60m - for the first time: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. However, one underperformer was China Film Group’s (CFG) 700-print release of Australia, which grossed $2.4m (RMB16.4m), around 50% less than CFG hoped.
| China: Top 5 Films | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title (origin) | Distributor | Gross |
| 2012 (US) | Huaxia Film Distribution/China Film Group | $67.5m |
| Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (US) | Huaxia Film Distribution/China Film Group | $63m |
| Founding Of A Republic (Chi) | China Film Group | $61.5m |
| A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop (Chi) | China Film Group | $34m* |
| The Message (Chi) | Huayi Bros Pictures | $32.8m |
*Still on release as of Dec 31, 2009. Source: Screen
| China: Local Films 2009 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title (origin) | Distributor | Gross |
| Founding Of A Republic (Chi) | China Film Group | $61.5m |
| Red Cliff Part II (Chi) | China Film Group | $37.9m |
| A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop (Chi) | Huayi Bros Pictures | $34m* |
| The Message (Chi) | Huayi Bros Pictures | $32.8m |
| Bodyguards And Assassins (Chi) | Polybona Film Distribution, China Film Group | $30.4m* |
*Still on release as of Dec 31, 2009. Source: Screen
| China: Top 10 Foreign Releases 2009 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title (origin) | Distributor | Gross |
| Transporter 3 (Fr) | China Film Group | $9.1m |
| Slumdog Millionaire (UK) | China Film Group | $7.9m |
| Astro Boy (US-Jap-HK) | Huayi Bros Pictures | $7m |
| Two Worlds (Fr) | Huaxia Film Distribution | $3.8m |
| Rogue (Aus-US) | China Film Group | $3.3m |
| Les Femmes De L’Ombre (Fr) | Shanghai Huayu Films, China Film Group | $3.2m |
| Cape No.7 (Tai) | China Film Group | $3.2m |
| Black Book (Neth-Ger-Bel) | Huayu Films, China Films Group | $2.7m |
| Scandal Makers (Kor) | China Film Group | $2.1m |
| The Rock Climber (Rus) | Polybona, Huaxia Film Distributions | $2m |
Source: Screen
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