China film industry is forecasted to grow from generating $250 million in box office profits in 2005 to reach close to $900 million by 2010 and almost $2 billion by 2015. Furthermore, China will follow a steep upward trend to overtake the U.S. film industry, currently the dominant global market leader, by sometime in 2050.

Market growth will be driven by a number of factors based on current and past trends including increases in domestic purchasing power, disposable income and consumer spending, rising ticket prices, increase in digital cinema technology and distribution, decrease in piracy rates, rising number of high-quality theaters, multiplexes and screens, increases in domestic film productions and Asian co-productions, cultural and regulatory changes and the emergence of a DVD/home video market.

The once hazy view of China’s film future is becoming increasingly better defined. Driven by an economic engine on overdrive, the rapid accrual of wealth and the rise of entertainment spending following close behind, the continued momentum of China’s growing film market will clearly persist. While the full realization of China’s motion picture industry is still many years away, the report states that now is the right time for foreign entertainment and media companies to initiate entry strategies and develop long-term plans in order to fully capitalize on this media promise land.

U.S. media players, production companies, manufacturers and distributors should all become well aware of the threat of China and its neighbors, which will soon combine to overshadow Hollywood. As the Asian “powerhouse” economies of China, India, South Korea and Japan continue to post spectacular gains, the financial strength of these growing markets will eventually result in an Asia that is capable of sustaining itself with the regional profits alone. The growth of China’s film market will drive key regional Asian markets with an increase of mutually beneficial regional cooperation and integration in filmmaking that will lead to heightened visibility, awareness and profitability of the Asian entertainment industries.