China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

China had 338 million Internet users by June and their numbers are expected to top 400 million by the end of 2009, according to the October 28 press release for China’s Second Internet Advertising Industry Conference. The conference – organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Government and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade - will be held in Hangzhou on November 28.

An online video anti-piracy alliance composed of leading online enterprises such as Sohu, Joy.cn and Voole.com announced plans to file a second lawsuit against online video site Xunlei on October 28.

The Alliance claims that Xunlei has webcast 369 films without the permission of the copyright owners. In the first lawsuit it filed against Xunlei, it submitted evidence that the online video site had unlawfully aired 100 films. The case will be filed in the Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court.

The Alliance was formed in September 2009 to combat the widespread copyright violations on mainland online video sites. The General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) plans to issue new regulations to fight online video piracy before the end of 2009.

The Founding of A Republic (Jianguo Daye), the hit propaganda film celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, will be webcast for the first time on CCTV-6's official website. The site will provide free online streaming of the three hour version of the film.

The film has become the highest earning film in China's cinematic history on October 16, notching up RMB419 million (US$61.35 million) by November 1. The fomer box office record of RMB400 million (US$58.57 million) was set up The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen earlier this year.

This is It, the documentary featuring rehearsal and backstage footage of Michael Jackson's last planned series of concerts has proved a box office hit since it premiered across China at midnight on October 28.

The film made more than RMB30 million (US$4.39 million) at the box office by November 1. The film's mainland distributor, China Film Group (CFG), expects it to make more than RMB100 million (US$14.64 million) before it bows out. The IMAX format of the film premiered at the Beijing Wanda International Cinema on November 2.

China's film industry is set to continue to expand dramatically the next 10 years, according to Zhang Hongsen, deputy director-general of China's Film Bureau, on October 23. He said the number of theatrical venues across China is set to grow from the current 4,800 screens to more than 10,000 by 2019. He predicted the total box office takings from 2009 to 2019 will top RMB35 billion (US$5.12 billion).

China's box office grew by 30% year-on-year in 2008 to RMB4.34 billion (US$63.54 million), the largest percentage box office increase of any major film market.