《哥斯拉》王者归来

The spring and summer seasons have witnessed Hollywood superheroes scrambling for the Chinese box office one after another. But this time, it's a remake of the classic monster film Godzilla that's causing all the buzz. The 3-D blockbuster made its China debut on Friday.

"Invasion of the monster. After sweeping across America's cinema lines, Godzilla has landed in China, right on the 60th anniversary of the monster's creation."

The sci-fi flick stars Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen, and has been a global sensation since its premiere in North America on May 16th. 60 years since the debut of the Japanese franchise, Godzilla, one of the most globally recognizable movie monsters of all time, still has a strong allure for movie-goers.

"I came to watch Godzilla with my child. He likes blockbusters like this very much." a movie-goer said.

"Godzilla. That's what I came for today." a movie-goer said.

"I have seen the Godzilla filmed 60 years ago. This time it is shot in 3D and has better visual effects, which is normally what I come for at the cinema. As for domestic films, if I have a lot of time to kill, I'll buy tickets and watch them." a movie-goer said.

During the first half of this year, Chinese audiences have been overwhelmed by Hollywood monsters wreaking havoc on the world, and superheroes who manage to save it. From the most recent "X-Men: Days of Future Past" to "Amazing Spiderman II" and "Captain America II",  superhero stories with cutting edge visual effects have been the most powerful attraction for movie goers.

Domestic small-budget films defy Hollywood superheroes

And as the Chinese film market has become the second largest in the world, Chinese actors have started to appear in Hollywood blockbusters, and Beijing and Shanghai have become unavoidable stops for promotion.

In the past three months, Beijing fans have seen Hugh Jackman and Peter Dinklage for "X-MEN", which also stars Fan Bingbing, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johanson and Samuel Jackson for "Captain America", as well as Johny Depp for "Transcendence."

Although half of the top ten films that grabbed the highest box-office revenues in China are Hollywood films, the top of the list is the domestic film "The Monkey King." The 3D film based on the Chinese legend hit big screens during the Chinese Spring Festival and raked in over 1 billion yuan. The four other Chinese films in the top ten are "Dad, where are we going?", "From Vegas to Macau", "My Old Classmates", and "Beijing Love Story". Although made with a relatively small budgets, these domestic films still managed to succeed.

Box office estimated to rake in 28 bln yuan by year's end

China's annual box office revenue reached the 10 billion yuan threshold in 2010, and has been increasing steadily ever since. Domestic films have accounted for over 56 percent of the takings.

It is estimated that box office revenue will reach 28 billion by the end of this year. The expansion is due to the increase of screens in second and third tier cities, and currently there are over 20,000 screens across the country.