Film companies in Beijing produced 350 domestic movies in 2017, generating 86.72 billion yuan (US$13.84 billion) in revenue, said Hu Dong, vice director general of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, at the Beijing Film and TV Policy Interpretation Conference held on Wednesday at the 8th Beijing International Film Festival.
Beijing's film industry is the biggest in China, as it had 209 cinemas and 1,420 screens, and its yearly box office revenue reached 3.4 billion yuan in 2017.
The industry also receives financial support from the government. Over the past two years, Beijing provided 260 million yuan to domestic film producers to make more high-quality films, Hu said.
In addition, the city will introduce a slew of new polices to further promote its film industry, including stronger financial support and incentives to film companies to open more cinemas. For example, Beijing will encourage companies to turn old factories, warehouses and old malls into multiplex theaters.
In 2017, the city launched the "Financing and Loan Reward" Program and established a coordination mechanism for its culture industry, integrating stock financing, debt financing and other financial support for cultural enterprises, said Huang Dianyi, deputy director of the Beijing State-Owned Cultural Assets Supervision and Administration Office.
The Beijing municipal government will carry out a new round of cultural and financial policies to provide targeted services to the city's cultural enterprises.