(Yicai Global) May 21 -- China bested North America as the world's biggest movie market by taking CNY20.2 billion (USD3.2 billion) in box office receipts in the first quarter, the first time any other region has claimed the top spot.

China takings soared nearly 30 percent on the year with revenue from domestic films tallying CNY15 billion, almost double that of last year, state-owned People's Daily reported, citing data from the National Film Bureau. North America receipts tallied less than USD2.9 billion.

China's movie market has been expanding since 2003, when its box office revenue was just CNY1 billion for the entire year. It has been building more and more cinemas to boost the sector, and had 50,776 big screens as of the end of 2017, more than any other country.

Editor: James Boynton