The Chinese film industry has been experiencing serious growth in recent years as new movie theaters are being built throughout much of the country and people are spending their hard-earned RMB on tickets. As 2011 draws to a close, it seems certain that box office revenue for the year will exceed U.S. $2 billion, the highest ever in China. China's year-end box office revenue in 2010 was $1.62 billion (RMB 10.2 billion). By early December, 2011 revenues were over $1.89 billion) and there are several new Chinese and foreign blockbusters debuting in theaters which virtually guarantees that the $2 billion milestone will be reached. The Flowers of War, a late 2011 release produced by Zhang Yimou and starring Academy Award winner Christian Bale is likely to significantly increase December 2011 box office revenues.
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Even though illegal DVD copies of movies can be found all over in China (generally selling for under U.S. $2.00) and Chinese websites illegally offer a huge selection of both domestic and foreign films for free, Chinese consumers are increasingly spending much more money to see films in modern theaters (well over U.S. $10 a ticket in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai). As Hollywood and other foreign film production companies are eagerly investing in co-productions with Chinese companies in an effort to gain market share in China's increasingly lucrative market, it seems that the Chinese box office will continue to prosper into 2012 and beyond.
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