Even with ubiquitous DVDs and movies online, audience are now attracted back to the cinema, as shown in the growing box office takings.

"I went to the movies in 2009 more frequently than previous years. And I have watched almost all the hits, like The Foundation of a Republic, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," said Li Juanzhi, a 27-year-old magazine editor in Shanghai.

There are more domestic movies last year and the qualities are much higher as well, unlike in the past when movie theaters were dominated by foreign blockbusters, Li said.

"I chose cinema to enjoy the audio visual effects unmatched by watching DVDs at home," said Li, "It also shows that we support domestic movies and oppose pirate disks."

The box office takings were 6 billion yuan (US$878 million) as of the end of November in 2009, up by 40 percent compared with the previous year, among which 17 movies sold over 100 million yuan in tickets each.

The box office record of 359 million yuan, held by Titanic for 11 years, was broken by Transformers 2 with 430 million yuan in the summer, 2009, said Wu Hehu, deputy general manager of Shanghai United Cinema Line Co.,Ltd.

The Foundation of a Republic and 2012 also sold over 400 million yuan in tickets.

The Foundation of a Republic, a Chinese historical film, has an all-star cast including Andy Lau, Ge You, Hu Jun, Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and directors Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige and John Woo.

With the booming movie market, people are willing to return to the cinema, said Wu.

"Usually I am too busy to go to the movies but I still managed to watch The Foundation of a Republic because many friends spoke highly of it," said Yang Yun, 33, owner of a Shanghai-based finance company.

"Watching movies at cinema is hot again," said Yang, "Now we talk about movies more with friends."

Directors and producers pay more attention to the market needs. Zhang Yimou, an internationally acclaimed director, casted Xiao Shenyang, a new comedian star, in his latest film, A Simple Noodle Story, to woo the audience, said Wu.

Filmmakers should combine mainstream social values with their pursuit of commercial success in an artistic way. Those movies with only the special effects standing out can not really hook the audience, said Ren Zhonglun, president of Shanghai Film Group Corporation.

China began to import foreign blockbusters since 1993 which dominated China's film market for almost a decade before the unveiling of Hero, a Chinese martial arts film at the end of 2002.

Despite the booming domestic movie market, problems remain. Many movies still blindly pursue box office takings, as pointed out by many movie critics.

To strike a bigger success, Chinese movie makers should pay more attention to the mainstream values shared by the majority population, said Ni Zhen, professor of Beijing Film Academy.

We should also create better environment for the low budget films to blossom as well, said Wu Hehu.

"I am confident that we will see more domestic box office hits, not only those whose plots are based on rural or ancient China," said Li Juanzhi.

(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2010)