China finally usurped North America as the world’s biggest box office territory in 2020, generating an estimated $3 billion in ticket sales compared with about $2.28 billion stateside.
All it took was a global pandemic. China's cinemas were hard hit by the first phase of the novel coronavirus outbreak, as lengthy closures drove total ticket sales down 68 percent from 2019’s $9.2 billion.
But by mid-August, Beijing’s aggressive tactics had suppressed the virus within the country's borders to an extent that cinemas could return to 75 percent capacity and moviegoers felt safe.
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