The mainstream Chinese movie market has caught up with that of North America and is now the largest market in the world when it comes to box office receipts, Yicai.com reported.
In the first quarter of 2018, the gross box office revenue of the Chinese movie market reached 20.21 billion yuan (US$3.18 billion), compared with North America’s US$2.98 billion over the same period. It was the first time for China to become the world’s biggest movie market.
Young Chinese consumers have become the driving force behind the burgeoning movie market, as 80% of viewers are younger than 33 years old. Meanwhile, young viewers living in second-tier cities and below are becoming the major consuming force of the Chinese movie market.
Also, the rise of mobile networks has allowed the film industry to acquire a new growth point. According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in the first half of 2017, the number of mobile Internet users in China exceeded 1.1 billion.
If mobile devices can be turned into “screens” for movie viewings, then China’s movie market could grow geometrically, the report said.