娱乐英语新闻:Chinese box office reaches 1.89 bln USD: official

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The film industry has continued to surge in China and box office earnings so far this year have totaled over 12 billion yuan (around 1.89 billion U.S dollars), the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said Thursday.

Addressing a film function held to mark the new year celebration, Cai Fuchao, head of the administration, said China recorded a daily average increase of eight new film screens this year, and the number of screens nationwide has already exceeded 9,000.

China produced over 500 films this year, Cai said. Chinese releases totaled 526 last year, up 15 percent from 456 in 2009.

The Chinese box office took in 10.17 billion yuan in 2010, up 63.9 percent from the previous year.