Online film fans take the helm

"Dying to Survive grossed $450 million in worldwide box-office revenues. It has also sort of changed China's film industry, leading to more movies adapted from real-life stories," says Liu.

The film's director Wen Muye, who also attended the release of the report at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival, which concluded on Monday, says he followed three principles in making the film: to tackle social issues, be entertaining and "touch the soul".

Grabbing a slice of a market dominated by Marvel blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, the Lebanese film Capernaum soared as a sleeper hit, again partly due to the power of the internet.

When most films released around the opening date of the Marvel blockbuster struggled to gain a few screenings, Endgame occupied around 80 percent of the entire country's 60,000-plus screens in the first week－Capernaum surprisingly saw its screening percentage rise from 14 percent on the first day to 22 percent a week later.

This was largely due to the praise the movie received online, as the heartbreaking story about a boy who sues his parents for bringing him into the world earned 9.0 points out of 10 on Douban.