China's box office sales hit historic 40b yuan

BEIJING - China's 2015 box office sales had hit 40 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) as of Thursday night, posting growth of more than 48 percent from the same period last year, official data showed Friday.

It is the first time box office sales in the world's second largest film market reached such a benchmark figure, according to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

The administration said domestic films pulled in 23.7 billion yuan, accounting for more than 59 percent of the total box office earnings.

Among the top 10 earners in the recording period, domestic films, including the live action animation "Monster Hunt" and the animated "Monkey King: Hero is Back," took six spots.

Foreign productions that made the top 10 list included "Furious 7," "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Jurassic World" and "Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation."

According to the administration, there are about 6,200 urban cinemas with more than 30,000 screens in total across the nation.

Earlier statistics from the administration showed China's 2015 box office sales exceeded the 2014 total of 29.6 billion yuan in early September.