China's box office breaks 17 bln yuan in 2012

China's box office sales hit 17.07 billion yuan (2.74 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012, surging 30.18 percent year on year.

Ticket sales for imported movies totaled 8.8 billion yuan, or 51.54 percent of gross ticket revenue, ending domestic films' nine-year dominance at the box office, according to data published Wednesday by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).