China’s emerging film sector has been attracting the attention of different industry players, particularly Internet firms aimed at improving the sector’s ticket-selling platforms.
"We have seen an explosive growth in the number of people who have migrated to online platforms to purchase tickets since last August," Li Chao, Beijing Jinyi International Cinema's Zhongguancun branch marketing director, remarked.
According to Li, over 47 percent of their cinema's visitors have purchased tickets online in January--a big leap from last December's 21 percent.
"To meet the growing demand, we set up dozens of new ticket vending machines by teaming up with online platforms," he added.
In other thousand cinemas in the world's second biggest movie market, the trend is also similar. In a report released by Internet consultancy group Analysys International, results show that more than 45 percent of the tickets in mainland theaters were bought via Web-based portals in 2014.
The report also stated that around 40 online platforms have engaged in movie ticket-selling, citing the active participation of Internet players in the booming film sector.
The Alibaba-backed and Maoyan-owned Meituan.com holds the biggest share--17 percent--of this emerging market, while Shanghai-based Gewara.com comes at the second spot with a 7-percent share.
Tencent Holdings Ltd., another Internet giant, which started its ticketing services in 2013 via WeChat, occupies the third spot with a 5-percent portion of the movie ticket sales last year.
The intensified participation of Internet companies in the country's film market comes after the exponential growth posted by the movie industry as well as the rising popularity of online-to-offline (O2O) model in providing services.
However, not all cinemas are agreeing with the entry of Internet players in the sector. Market experts claim that it could leave some Chinese theaters overstretched.
"Some cinemas that rely on ticketing sites to lure filmgoers are often poorly equipped and unable to provide proper services," Cao Yong, deputy manager of Beijing UME International Cineplex - Anzhen branch, said.
"Lacking the capacity to handle the influx of visitors, they choose to sacrifice the audience's viewing experience," Cao furthered, adding that they have also partnered with online platforms, on a condition that "the tickets can't be sold at prices lower than what [their] VIP members enjoy."
According to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China reached a total box office of 29.6 billion yuan in 2014, a whopping increase from 2004's mere 1.5 billion yuan.
The 40 percent per-year growth made China the world's second biggest market for cinemas after North America.