China's domestic film sales surge

China may soon become the world's largest movie market, but getting a piece of that ever-growing pie is no easy task, just ask Hollywood. The movie capital of the world seems to be losing ground in China.

According to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China's box office grossed over 16.4 billion yuan in the first nine months of the year. That’s a 35 percent jump from the same period last year. But most of that growth was concentrated in Chinese films.

Domestic ticket sales surged by 94 percent while sales for American movies declined by just over 5 percent. Check out this tally here of the performances by Chinese and foreign movies from January to September this year.

So far, domestic movies account for 6 of the 10 top grossing movies in the Chinese market, making it a promising year for the domestic film industry.

A scene from the film Lost in Thailand, a very popular Chinese low-budget comedy. [Photos provided to China Daily]