Summer box office picks up steam

After slow start, upcoming release of big-name movies, domestic and international, injects fresh momentum into film market, Xu Fan reports.

Despite the summer heat, China's film industry is gearing up to captivate a sea of cinemagoers during this traditionally lucrative box office season.

As of Thursday, the film market had grossed more than 26.6 billion yuan ($3.67 billion) in ticket revenue since the beginning of this year. It is currently riding on momentum fueled by the summer season, which began on June 1 and will last until Aug 30, according to film information tracking platform Maoyan.

Malaysian director Sam Quah's A Place Called Silence, a suspenseful crime film about a series of murders resulting from campus bullying, is currently in the top spot on the summer box-office charts, raking in 984 million yuan.

The latest information from the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Association reveals that 85 films have been or will be released between June and August. Among them, 49 premiered in June and as of Monday, 18 more films had made their debuts.