China's box office sales totaled 16.42 billion yuan (2.67 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of 2013, surging 34.9 percent year on year.

The figure is almost the total annual box office takings for last year, which stood at 17.07 billion yuan, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) revealed Wednesday.

According to the administration's statistics, domestic films grossed 9.56 billion yuan in the first three quarters, soaring 93.8 percent against the same period last year, while box office sales of imported films declined by 5.2 percent to 6.86 billion yuan.

Among the top 10 films for box office earnings, half are domestic films, according to SARFT.

Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow's fantasy action comedy "Odyssey" is so far this year's highest grossing film, with box office revenue of 1.24 billion yuan, followed by "Iron Man 3," "So Young" and "Pacific Rim."

China is the world's second-largest box office market. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)