CRI听力:China's Cinema Industry

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol raked in almost 650 million yuan in the first quarter of this year as the Chinese cinema industry overtook Japan as the second largest in the world.

According to a study conducted by Euromonitor the increase in cinema takings is linked to China's rapid economic growth which is fueling an increase in disposable incomes.

The study also states that the number of single person households and couples without children are increasing and these people are spending more money on leisure activities like seeing films at the theatre.

Despite domestic box office success, China has yet to become a major player in the global film market.

China Film Promotion International President Zhou Tiedong recently told CCTV that international buyers are worried their audiences won't understand Chinese films.

"In the eyes of the international buyers or the international audience they don't think they can understand they don't think they are related to these kinds of stories because all these movies are kind of the same Chinese stories that they can't understand."

Jeannette Paulson Hereniko is the president of AsiaPacificFilms.com and founder of the Hawaii International film festival.

She says there's increasing interest in Chinese films in the western world.

"There's so many film festivals that have started up and great films have been showing from China in the film festivals. And people are starting to get more and more exposed to these films. And you know that there is 3.8 million Chinese Americans and they really love to see pictures from home. So combining all those facts I think you'll see more and more interest in films from China."

Paulson Hereniko goes on to say Chinese films, such Ann Hui's "A Simple Life" which won awards at film festivals around the world last year, are helping to promote Chinese films to a global audience.

"People can be exposed to films that they might never pay to go and see at a regular movie theatre but there is something about the excitement and the passion and the love of film during a festival that captures the imagination of entire communities and pushes forward films from China or films from what ever country is being highlighted."

The cinema market here in China however is only set to charge on with growth expected in many area.

This year alone the market has opened up to allow 14 additional foreign films to be shown, the first of the new DMAX cinema screens have been unveiled and a Chinese company has joined forces with Disney to produce the new Iron Man 3 movie.

For CRI, I'm Emily Hennessy.