Chinese box office earnings to hit $1.5 bn in 2010

BEIJING - Chinese box office earnings could exceed 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) this year, up 61 percent from the previous year, an official said.

The box office surged to 6.2 billion yuan in 2009 from less than 1 billion in 2003, said La Peikang, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

China-made films grabbed a 56.6-percent share of the box office last year with competition from Hollywood blockbusters, La told a forum on animated films in the eastern city of Hangzhou, Xinhua reported.

Director James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi epic “Avatar” earned a record 1.3 billion yuan ($190 million) in China at the beginning of the year, the film’s distributor said.

The film made a record $2.7 billion globally.