China's box office, for the first time, tops North America

This box office boom isn't in one particular type of film, either; Chinese audiences have diverse tastes. The five domestic films mentioned above vary in genre and style.

For instance, Operation Red Sea, the first movie co-produced with the PLA Navy, is loosely based on the evacuation of Chinese citizens and foreign nationals from Yemen during the civil war there in 2015. And Detective Chinatown 2, the Chinese version of Sherlock Holmes, combines comedy with mystery elements.

"I watched the movie Detective Chinatown 2 three times, as I am really into the plot device of using fengshui (also known as geomancy) as clues. Also, it was shot largely in New York City, including many landmark locations like Times Square, Fifth Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge, making it attractive and intriguing to domestic and international audiences alike," said Zhang Xiaobin, a college student at Beijing Normal University.