China’s movie industry has yet again taken the title for the world’s largest box office. With massive budgets and millions of viewers, we look at how this country became the global giant of film.

The latest in China’s movie industry

The year 2021 has seen local Chinese film industry dominate the world. According to businessinsider the country beat the US for the second year in a row, taking on the title for the world’s largest box office of 2021.

While the country continues to up its investments in domestic productions, the local film industry has also seen a massive boost in sales and revenue. This may stem from the highly controversial actions taken by the government on international films in the country. Barely any foreign movies are allowed. The ones that are will be edited to ensure China’s political agendas aren’t threatened. Despite the fragile underlying reason, it creates a lucrative market for local moviemakers.

The numbers (2021 – revenue for the US in China, Chinese movie revenue domestically and internationally

With the massive local impact of the Chinese film industry, it comes as no surprise to learn that Hollywood’s grasp on China has run its course. As of  2021, films from the US amounted to a mere 12% of China’s total box office sale of $899 million. This comes at a huge decline especially when compared against box office sales of US films in 2019, which stood at a whopping $2.8 billion. The drop is estimated to be down by 30%.

As of 2021, 84.4% of China’s $7,429,999,804 total sales of 2021 stemmed from domestic productions. With the country releasing up to 472 films within the span of the year. This surprisingly exceeded the number of films made by the country in the pre-pandemic era of 2019. 2021 witnessed a total sales revenue from the local film industry of a massive $6.19 billion.

Records tumble 

Eight of the highest-grossing films in China 2021 stemmed from local productions. Amongst this stood Battle for Lake Chongjin, the Korean war epic and one of the biggest hits of the year. Holding the title for the most expensive movie to ever be made, Battle for Lake Chongjin generated a record of  $907,447,288 during the year.  This holds the title for the new record high of being the highest-grossing film in the history of China.

Other major titles produced locally in the country include films such as Embrace Again, released 31^st December 2021. The film garnered a box office of $10.7 million in its fourth week of airing, topping the domestic weekly box office.

The film industry of China is only expected to expand with the country opening 6700 new cinemas in 2021. The country may easily continue to beat the US as the world’s largest box office.