According to an article that Guangming Daily published, the box office revenue for summer movies has been lower than expected and the quality of the domestic and foreign new movie releases has been poor. According to the article, the total box office revenue for movies for July was 4.5 billion yuan (US$0.67 billion), up 17 percent from June but down 18.2 percent from July of 2015. The article stated that the revenue drop was the first in the past five years. The reported average growth rate had been at 30 percent year after year over the last five years. In addition, the box office revenue for July is an indication of a slowdown in the box office market in China. Based on the current trend, the revenue for the full year is expected to be lower. The article pointed out that, even though the box office revenue grew 21 percent in first six months in 2016 versus 2015, it is far less than the average growth rate over the past five years, which was at 30 percent.
Source: Guangming Daily, August 22, 2016
http://culture.gmw.cn/2016-08/22/content_21571745.htm