HOLLYWOOD is the recognised beating heart of the movie industry, but for the first time in history, China has overtaken America for ticket sales, making it the world's biggest box office.

 

So far this year…

…movie ticket sales in China have reached $1.988 billion (£1.5 billion) for 2020, surpassing the US total of $1.937 billion, according to Asian film industry consultancy Artisan Gateway.

 

And there’s more to come?

Analysts expect the gap to continue to widen as the pandemic shows no sign of abating in the US, where there are more than 8 million coronavirus cases, with America also experiencing the highest number of deaths worldwide at nearly 222,000.

 

Meanwhile in China?

Although scepticism over China's coronavirus data continues, its aggressive measures to contain the virus have seen life largely return to normal. This includes movie-going, with cinemas operating at 75 per cent of their usual seating capacity, while filmgoers are clearly demonstrating a desire to get life back to normal and go to see a film on the silver screen.

 

Homegrown hits?

China's homegrown patriotic movie, "My People, My Homeland", a drama in which people in various parts of rural China explore what makes their communities unique, helped push the box office sales, bringing in $19.1 million over the past weekend alone, lifting its total intake to $360 million after 18 days. The world’s biggest movie of 2020 so far is “The Eight Hundred”, a Chinese World War Two epic, that has made around $460 million so far, leaving Hollywood's biggest hit this year Will Smith’s “Bad Boys for Life”, which has earned $426.5 million.

 

The industry is grim outside of China?

Many cinemas worldwide, including in the US and UK, remain closed or operating at reduced hours, as cinemas are left without movies to show and concern grows that the damage done may be permanent.

 

Bond?

The major studios have postponed all of their major releases, including Marvel’s “Black Widow” and the new James Bond movie, “No Time to Die”, which was due to be shown in cinemas in April, first pushed back to November and now will not air till 2021. A post on the official James Bond Twitter page said the film would now be released on April 2, 2021 "in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience”.

 

There are some movies still out there?

Liam Neeson’s action thriller "Honest Thief" topped the North American box office with $3.7 million from 2,425 cinemas in its second weekend last weekend. The film stars Neeson as a former bank robber who turns himself in to try and start a new life, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents who want his fortune. Due to the state of cinema at present, it’s takings were considered respectable, making it a hit under the new criteria the pandemic has wrought.

 

Now?

Last year, North America topped the global box office with ticket sales of $11.4 billion, with China in second place at $9.2 billion. Only time will tell what will happen post-pandemic.