Hot ticket with popcorn

China's movie-makers hit pay dirt this year, thanks to a variety of factors including a hungry young audience, Raymond Zhou reports.

It's hard to pinpoint yearzero for the rejuvenation of China's film industry, but 2013 will probably be remembered as the year the industry gained full confidence and changes happened faster than any prognostication. By the end of 2013, China's box-office total is expected to hit 21.5 billion yuan ($3.54 billion), 10 times the revenue of 2006. Last year's number already placed China as the second-largest cinema market in the world, next only to the United States. But only this year did the ratio of domestic releases rise well above the 50 percent demarcation, and without any palpable manipulations.

Sure, Hollywood superheroes still command their share of China's box office. For example, Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim, Gravity and Fast and Furious 6 all brought in north of 400 million yuan in the Middle Kingdom, but they were exceptions.