China's 2013 box office breaks $3.17b

BEIJING - China's box office sales in 2013 have hit 19.3 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) as of November 25, according to official figures revealed on Friday.

Chinese films have raked in 10.7 billion yuan in 2013, accounting for 55 percent of mainland box office revenues during the same period, said Tong Gang, deputy director of the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, at the Ninth National Congress of the China Film Association.

China's box office sales in 2010 exceeded 10 billion yuan while the figure in 2002 was less than one billion yuan.

The rapid surge was the result of reform in the film industry, said Yin Hong, professor with Tsinghua University, explaining that the injection of private capital has prompted the growth.

More than 4,500 screens have been built in China's cinemas in 2013, with the total number of screens across the country surpassing 17,600.