China takes over North America as world's biggest box office in 2020

For long as one can remember, Hollywood has dominated the world box office and considered as the biggest. But the pandemic seem to have changed the dynamics.

For the first time in history motion picture China has overthrown North America and become the world's biggest box office.

According to a report in 'The Hollywood Reporter', movie ticket sales in China for this year has shot up to a whopping to $1.988 billion on Sunday. The collection has surpassed North America's total of $1.937 billion. Experts believe that the gap is only going to widen by the end of 2020.

Trade pundits have, for long, predicted that the world's most populous country would one day emerge as the leader in terms of box office collection. But it took a pandemic to change the dynamics. Hollywood is still grappling due to the coronavirus, with theatre owners still weary of opening up cinema halls amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, China has been able to effectively contain COVID-19, with country's theatres running at 75 percent occupancy keeping in mind the safety measures.

From October 1-8, China's cinemas sold $586 million worth of tickets. Local blockbuster 'My People, My Homeland' brought in $19.1 million in the last weekend. China also produced the world's biggest hit of 2020, WWII epic 'The Eight Hundred', with $460 million and counting.

In North America, with most theatres still shut due to alarming rise of Covid-19 studios are postponing big ticket films for 2021 and some even for 2022. AMC Theatres, North America's largest cinema chain, warned last week that it could run out of cash by the end of this year.

Pundits are also worried that the political tensions between America and China could adversely effect Hollywood's strong foothold in China. Hollywood has gained a lot in the last few years by releasing its films in China.