China's 2013 box office nears 21.8b yuan

BEIJING -- China's box office sales in 2013 neared 21.8 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), according to official figures revealed on Friday.

Domestic films raked in about 12.8 billion yuan, registering a year-on-year increase of 54.3 percent and accounting for 58.7 percent of mainland box office revenues last year, said Zhang Hongsen, head of the film bureau under the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

A total of 638 Chinese films were produced in 2013, while 745 Chinese films were made in 2012.

China's box office sales in 2012 exceeded 17 billion yuan, with domestic movies contributing 48.5 percent of the total, according to Zhang.

In 2013, 5,077 screens were added, bringing the total number of screens in the country to almost 18,200, Zhang said.

A total of 45 Chinese movies were sold to the overseas market last year, and their box office sales topped 1.06 billion yuan, according to the official.