BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua)
-- China's film industry received a
handsome report card in the first
half of this year, when
domestically-made movies took up a
whopping 62 percent of the country's
total box office revenue.
While
the fortunes of China's box
offices and film producers have ebbed
and flowed throughout the industry's
history of over 100 years, developing
audience demand, regulatory and market
conditions have seen both crest once
again.
Nationwide, cinemas grossed
a total of 11 billion yuan (1.79
billion U.S. dollars) in ticket
sales from January to June, of
which more than 6.8 billion yuan came
from domestic films, according to
figures released on Wednesday by the
State General Administration of Press,
Publication, Radio, Film and
Television.
Domestic blockbusters such
as action-adventure "Switch," "American
dreams in China," "So Young" and
coming-of-age drama "Tiny Times" have
dominated the summer
screen.
Though feedback from
audiences and film critics have
varied, the debates these films have
prompted seem to have simply
stimulated more moviegoers to open
their wallets.
"Tiny Times"
alone has pocketed more than 460
million yuan in box office revenue
since its premiere on June
27.
The feature film set in
contemporary Shanghai made headlines after
it beat Hollywood blockbuster "Man of
Steel" in terms of opening-day box
office records.
The movie,
which tells of four college girls'
romances and budding careers, stirred
controversies for its plot, which some
critics said "stressed young people's
lust for luxury."
Even
U.S. magazine The Atlantic published
an article rebuking the film as
"a great leap backward for women,"
saying "its vulgar and utter lack
of self-awareness is
astonishing."
Its author-turned
director Guo Jingming appeared unperturbed
by the bombardment. "The audience is
changing, but films are not," he
said. "It's the elephant in the
room that you pretend not to
see."
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