According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), ticket sales for movies shown around the globe rose three percent in 2011 to 32.6 billion US dollars, largely because of a growth in booming markets like that of China.

American film industry insiders predict that China will exceed Japan, which is currently the second largest market for movies outside of the US and Canada, in its box office revenue performance.

The MPAA said last week that theatrical revenue from the US and Canada dropped four per cent to 10.2 billion US dollars as attendance fell last year, for the second year in a row. Revenue from 3D movies also shrank compared with 2010, when the release of Avatar in 3D gave the box office a huge boost.

MPAA chief executive Chris Dodd, a former US senator from Connecticut, said sales in China grew 35 per cent to 2 billion US dollars in 2011, making China the third largest film market behind the US and Japan. The total gross set a new record for domestic box office results.

John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, also said that the horrible earthquake and the resulting incident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant had seriously affected Japan's entertainment industry, including the film market. "There is a strong possibility that China will reach a box office of 3 billion US dollars in the year 2012 and become the second largest film market of the world."

Source:entgroup