Filmmakers confident about China's movie market

SHANGHAI -- Amid growing concerns about the decline of China's movie market, filmmakers attending the ongoing 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) expressed confidence, saying that its golden age has just begun.

From January to May, the year-on-year growth rate of China's film box office (excluding service fees) and the number of viewers both saw a decline for the first time since 2011, according to Cat's Eye, a leading Chinese ticket platform.

Only six movies reaped more than 1 billion yuan ($144.4 million) from the box office during the past five months, including the domestic films Wandering Earth and Crazy Alien, as well as Hollywood blockbusters Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel.

The slowdown of China's film industry, which has long been seen as highly prosperous, has aroused wide concerns.

At the International Producer Forum held on Sunday, a major event of SIFF, filmmakers from around the world discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the movie industry.