"For many people, the box office reflects the market scale. But the movie market is not about the box office alone. When we look at the entire market, China still lags far behind the US," says Huang Qunfei, CEO of New Film Association, which runs a chain of 100 cinemas across the country.

In the US, the box office usually accounts for only 22 percent of the total revenue generated by a film. The rest comes from non-theatrical releases and film-related products such as books, toys and even theme parks. But in China, the box office accounts for more than 80 percent of a film's total revenue. Therefore, the record box office revenue in the first six months doesn't mean domestic movies have become more competitive.

"We should not be so optimistic. We are still far behind Hollywood. For me, film production is still a gamble," says Wang Changtian, the CEO of Enlight Media, a private listed company whose films contributed 29 percent of the box office revenue in the first half of this year.

And if it is a gamble, we have to keep our fingers crossed.

The author is a reporter with China Daily.