Bring on the popcorn

A blockbuster month is building for foreign-movie buffs. Xu Fan goes behind the scenes to explore the year-end bonanza.

Chilly November has turned into a warm season for fans of big foreign films. Seven tentpoles - topping the imported release total for a single month this year - are competing fiercely for the Chinese mainland audience.

China allows 34 foreign big-budget titles annually to be released in mainland theaters, based on a 25-percent box-office share for foreign producers.