China denies upping Hollywood film quota

BEIJING - China's quota of imported films from Hollywood will remain unchanged at 34 this year, an official with the country's film governing body said on Tuesday.

The Hollywood Reporter had reported that China was considering upping the imported film quota by 10.

The official from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, who declined to give his name, said the quota is based on an agreement signed between China and the United States in 2012.

Under the film agreement, China increased its annual import quota of Hollywood blockbusters from 20 to 34 and lifted their share of revenue from 17.5 percent to 25 percent.

It is feared that more imported Hollywood movies would slash domestic films' profits.

China's box office revenues totaled 21.77 billion yuan (3.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013, up 27.51 percent year on year.

Domestic films made a strong comeback in 2013 after losing the box office battle to imported films in the previous year.

In 2013, domestic films raked in about 12.8 billion yuan, or about 58.7 percent of the box office, according to figures released by the administration.