High speed train attendants receive training in Chongqing
Rare rainbow clouds seen in Fujian
Small bracelet going global
Aerial Photography: Amazing Tianshan Mountains
'Animals' in 2014 World Cup
Not afraid of death
Chen Guangbiao ads on A15 of NYT to host charity luncheon for 1,000 poor and destitute Americans
Passionate bar babies and fans feel the charm of World Cup 2014
US aircraft carrier docks in HK, welcomes PLA aboard
Graduation season: 'Take graduation photos to mark our love'
BEIJING, June 28 -- Though well prepared, China's movie market watchers are still stunned by the unprecedented opening of "Transformers: Age of Extinction", estimated to have grossed some 200 million yuan (32.2 million U.S. dollars) on the first screening day.
According to "Piaofangba," a weibo account on box office research, the new installment of the Transformer franchise has broken several records in China, including the biggest opening, compared with the previous 122 million yuan, set by "The Monkey King."
The Paramount tentpole also dethroned "Iron Man 3" with the largest midnight screening box office: 20 million yuan.
The "autobots" owe their success to the 20,000 plus movie screens, but also to favorable screening arrangements.
Some 63 percent of screens were set aside for "Transformers 4", also a record.
As China and the United States are about to renegotiate imported movie quotas, movie authorities have been calling for theaters to give more support to domestic productions.
Zhang Hongsen, director of film bureau under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, said on Wednesday at the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival that he hoped movie theater chains would be more rational and give domestic movies a fair crack of the whip.
Zhang said he heard of some theaters trying to show "Transformers 4" on all of their screens
"Have faith in domestic movies! How can we repeat the mistake on 'Lost in Thailand' in 2012 when we thought it would only reach 200 million yuan and finally found it was a 1.2 billion yuan movie?" said Zhang.
"The Breakup Guru", a domestic movie screened a day earlier, grossed a total of 57 million yuan, a not bad achievement considering its number of screens.
Female master poses for graduation photos with son
Silk Road, China's Grand Canal listed as World Heritage Sites
PKU students imitate famous paintings in real-person photos
Chinese 'Slumdog Millionaire'
Puzhehei: land of idyllic beauty
Stewardesses in Brazilian soccer jerseys
Chinese navy fleet visits Cape Town, South Africa
PLA naval cadets toss their hats at graduation ceremony
Graduation photo ideas: reliable alumnus and happy alumna
Islands in S. China Sea better shown on new vertical atlas of China
Girl takes father’s portrait to travel the world
Images of Xi'an: Part one
In Pictures: Female fans of World Cup
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
China's top 10 representative architecturesDay|Week|Month