A Stellar century

Privately owned theater chain Stellar International Cineplex has opened its 100th screen, in World City, a 35,000 sq m lifestyle high street located in the center of Beijing's CBD.

Company chairman Tan Hong says the cineplex, which currently has a presence in nine cities across the country with 14 five star theaters, will add 500 screens next year.

According to the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV, China's flourishing film market saw a box office revenue of 4.3 billion yuan ($632 million) in 2008, a 30 percent increase over the previous year. For the past five years, the box office gross has been increasing by more than 20 percent year on year.

The number of screens has nearly tripled, from 1,400 in 2002 to over 4,000 at present. In 2008, 118 new theaters with 600 new screens were opened.

However, while in US there is one screen for every 8,000 people, in China about 500,000 people share a screen.