Box office receipts hit record high

Huba from "Monster Hunt". [Photo/Agencies]

China's box office receipts hit a record high of more than 40 billion yuan ($6.25 billion) as of Thursday night, an increase of more than 48 percent year-on-year, according to the country's film industry watchdog.

Revenue created by Chinese-made movies reached 23.7 billion yuan, taking in more than 59 percent of the total box office receipts and posting a year-on-year growth of 73.1 percent, according to statistics from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Last year, national box office revenue totaled 29.64 billion yuan.

Six domestic productions made the list of the top 10 highest-grossing films during this period. The live-action animation Monster Hunt grabbed the highest ranking, with total ticket sales of 2.44 billion yuan, which also makes it the country's highest-grossing film to date.

The Hollywood blockbuster Furious 7 followed, with ticket sales of 2.43 billion yuan. Other foreign productions that made the list are Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

It's expected that the total box office earnings for this year will reach between 42 billion and 43 billion yuan, and home-grown movies are to account for more than 60 percent of the total ticket sales, said Fu Yalong, director of research at EntGroup Consulting, a Beijing-based entertainment industry consultancy.