China to add 60,000 movie screens by 2020 to become largest market

With China increasingly becoming an attractive market for foreign film producers, including those from India, the country aims to have over 60,000 cinema screens by 2020 to make it the world largest film market, a top official said.

Some foreign films, including Amir Khan-starrer Indian blockbuster "Dangal", this year raked in higher box office collections in China.

By 2020, China is likely to produce around 800 films each year and the annual box office collection is expected to be around 70 billion yuan ($10.6 billion), Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) was qouted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

It is possible that China will become the world's new film production centre, Zhang added.

According to SAPPRFT, last week, the box office collection in China exceeded 50 billion yuan ($7 billion) this year, it is the first time that the country has broken the 50-billion mark in box office taking.

The box office collection for domestic movies reached 26.2 billion yuan, accounting for 52.4 per cent of the total earning.