"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has become the highest grossing film of Jan. 2016. in China. (Photo : YouTube)
Despite the decline of the overall Chinese economy, the country's box office has continued to stay strong with no signs of slowing down during the first month of 2016, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
China's box-office revenue for January reached 3.839 billion yuan ($583.4 million). This is remarkable considering that January is usually a slow month for the box office.
The January haul is a 47.2-percent increase from Jan. 2015. The box-office performance is in line with the 48.7-percent growth rate of the Chinese movie market in 2015.
China's box-office figures also show that Hollywood is making more money from China than ever, although their share of the Chinese movie market has decreased from 45.5 percent in 2014 to 38.4 percent in 2015.
China's box-office success is partly explained by the country's film regulators employing selective scheduling to promote domestic films. However, the industry's output has also increased in quality and diversity.
In January, box-office trend continued with Hollywood taking 29 percent of the earnings, roughly $169.2 million of the total.
British films brought in around 4 percent due to "Sherlock: The Abominable Bride," which grossed $24.4 million.
The major Hollywood entry for the month was "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which hit Chinese cinemas on Jan. 9. By Tuesday, Feb. 2, the film had grossed $123 million.
"Force Awakens" grossed less than the overall take of "Detective Chinatown," a domestic action-comedy set in Thailand, which grossed a total of $123.6 million during its run. However, "Force Awakens" is still the highest grossing film of January because "Detective Chinatown" opened on Dec. 31.
Other foreign films that screened in China during the first month of 2016 include "The Last Witch Hunter" ($25.6 million), "The Walk" ($12.6 million), "Solace" ($5.3 million) and "Alvin and the Chipmunks 4" ($5.7 million).
February is likely to be another great month for domestic films, as the government is implementing a blackout period on foreign films during the Chinese New Year holidays, taking up the first half of the month. Anticipated titles include "The Mermaid" and "From Vegas to Macau 2."
Hollywood's biggest chance at the fruitful February in the second largest movie market is Oriental DreamWork's "Kung Fu Panda 3," which is allowed to screen during the holidays because of it is a co-production with China Film Group, as well as the studio's joint venture investment from China Media Capital and Shanghai Media Group.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" has already earned $73.6 million from its opening on Jan. 29 until Tuesday, Feb. 2.
