Buoyed by the Chinese New Year Holidays, China's box office achieved a milestone in February as it surpassed North American box office numbers.

According to latest figures released by SARFT (State Administration of Radio, Film and Television), China's box office raked in 6.87B Yuan ($1.05B) in the month of February. That is more than $260 M higher than the $790 M collected by the U.S. and Canada box office combined last month.

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This is the first time that Chinas box office has triumphed over North America's in a single month. The box office feat is all the more impressive given that the much anticipated American movie Deadpool was released across North America on February 12.          

At the centre of China's record breaking box office performance is the movie The Mermaid. Chinese audiences were so much swayed by Stephen Chow's latest fantasy comedy movie that it raked in 2.45 billion Yuan in just 12 days of its release. The movie has already become highest grossing Chinese movie ever and is now poised to become the first ever Chinese movie to cross the $500 million mark.

While The Mermaid surely helped the local box office to rake in the moolah, other movies released during New Year period also greatly helped in propelling box office numbers. These movies include The Man From Macau 3, Kung Fu Panda 3 and The Monkey King 2.

After collecting 975 million Yuan ($149M) at the box office this week, Kung Fu Panda 3 became China's highest grossing animation film ever.

Many film critics argue that February may be a traditionally weak period for the North American box office, but last month's comparative box office numbers is a sure indication of the growing Chinese market.

China, currently the second largest movie market in the world, is expected to overtake the U.S. in coming years to become world's largest movie market.          

TagsChinese box office, Stephen Chow Mermaid