Another record year at the Chinese box office: movie ticket sales surpassed 44 billion yuan.($ 6.3 billion). 2 percent growth over last year, however, was far below the 30-plus percent seen in previous years.

And, continuing a trend, the movie that topped the box office this year was produced in China: “The Mermaid” grossed more than 520 million dollars on the Mainland.

CCTV America’s Asieh Namdar reports.

The rest of the highest grossing films of the year on China’s Mainland includes “Zootopia”, which made less than half as much as “The Mermaid,” “Warcraft,” “Captain America: Civil War,” and “The Monkey King 2 in 3D.”

More than half of the highest grossing movies of the year in China were produced domestically, showing the growing power of the Chinese box office.

There are now nearly 41,000 film screens in China, ranking it first in the world. Analysts argued the Chinese movie industry isn’t just growing–it’s improving.

Animations like the wildly popular “Monkey King” franchise with its sequel grossing $185 million this year on the Chinese Mainland.

And, “Kung Fu Panda” a franchise that began in the United States in 2008 is now co-produced in China.

It’s not just animations drawing crowds.

“The Great Wall” a controversial movie about monsters attacking the landmark opened two weeks ago in China. As of last week, it had already grossed nearly $120 million.

Analysts said that for 2017, expect more China-U.S. co-productions. And, more movie screens to be built in China.

Rajinder Dudrah discusses Bollywood’s global influence

India’s “Bollywood” movie industry is well known throughout the world, but it’s not always appreciated. To learn more about how influential Bollywood is, CCTV America’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Rajinder Dudrah, professor of cultural studies at the Birmingham School of Media.