There are 40,917 film screens in Chinese mainland cinemas as of December 20, according to the film bureau of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) Tuesday.

 

国家广播电影电视总局周二表示，截止12月20日中国大陆已有40917张电影银幕。

 

The film industry has seen huge growth, with 26 film screens on average added each day during 2016, said the film bureau, adding that 85 percent of all new screens can play 3D movies.

 

The number of screens in the U.S. market has been stable over the years, and stood at 40,759 by the end of May, according to a report by America's National Association of Theater Owners.

 

Accordingly, China has overtaken the U.S. in terms of film screen numbers, the bureau said.

 

Box office sales in China, the world's second largest film market, have posted average growth of 35 percent year on year since 2003.

 

China's 2016 box office sales are expected to exceed the 2015 total of 44 billion yuan (6.4 billion U.S. dollars), according to SARFT statistics.