If 2010 was considered the first year that 3-D films came on the scene in China, then 2011 could be a boom year for the movies.

As of December 31, the total box office revenue for China's film market was around 13 billion yuan ($2.07 billion), reaching the goal set at the beginning of the year. Films in

3-D format accounted for more than 5 billion yuan ($795 million) of the total—an amount twice as much as the revenue they generated in 2010, the Legal Mirror reports.

Despite the impressive number, domestically produced 3-D films were overshadowed by foreign ones, as domestic 3-D projects only bagged less than 500 million yuan in box office revenue.

Tsui Hark's newly released wuxia drama "Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate 3-D" already has become the standard-bearer of Chinese 3-D films by earning some 400 million yuan. It was also the only 3-D blockbuster that squeezed into the list of 14 3-D films in 2011 that grossed more than 100 million yuan.

Moreover, last year was the eighth year in which Chinese films won out over foreign ones. Ticket sales for domestic movies reached 5.73 billion yuan, accounting for 56.3 percent of the year's total film market revenue. But things changed in 2011. The three biggest money winners and the 13 3-D films that earned more than 100 million yuan each were all imports.

As experts expect to see more foreign 3-D films in China this year, they are concerned that if domestic 3-D filmmakers fail to produce enough high-quality movies, China will be reduced to a shopping mall for Hollywood films.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)