China's box Office in 2012

China's film industry earned about 2.7 billion U.S. dollars at the box office in 2012...

But local movies contributed less than half the revenue - despite their overwhelming majority in China's cinemas.

PKG

According to the Chongqing Economic Times on Thursday, 303 movies were shown in Chinese cinemas in 2012.

With domestic movies accounting for three quarters of the total screened.

But they only raked in 1.3 billion dollars - 48 percent of China's box office earnings.

Only three Chinese movies, "Lost in Thailand", "Painted Skin: The Resurrection" and Jackie Chan's "Chinese Zodiac 12", made the list of the top ten highest-grossing movies in the year.

"Lost in Thailand", a low-budget comedy premiered on December 12th, raked in 159 million dollars by the end of the year, becoming the highest-grossing Chinese domestic movie ever.

James Cameron's "Titanic" in 3D was the year's highest-grossing foreign film, earning 150 million dollars in Chinese theaters in 2012...

Though Cameron's 2010 blockbuster "Avatar," which took in nearly 220 million dollars, still holds China's box office record.

China's movie industry has grown rapidly in recent years...In 2008, box office sales in China were just 770 million dollars - but hit more than 1.6 billion dollars, by 2010.

And despite the country's 20-a year quota on imported films, foreign movies are now overtaking those made in China:

According to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, domestic films made up almost 54 percent of the total box office in China in 2011... Compared to 48 percent, in 2012.

In February, China and the U.S. agreed on a memorandum of understanding to allow 14 more American films into China every year, on top of the original quota.

Meaning Chinese studios will have to fight even harder in the years ahead.

But the deputy head of the S-A-R-F-T says this shows China is keeping its promise to the WTO: to open up its expanding cinemas, to foreign films.