China Box Office Overtakes US For First Time

China's box office takings have overtaken those in the US for the first time ever after new year celebrations brought a bumper February.

The world's second largest film market took $650m in the month, helped by a movie called The Man From Macau II, which brought in $104m.

The North American box office total was $710m but when the figures for Canada are stripped out, the total is $640m, according to research firm Entgroup.

China's second biggest film for February was the historical action movie Dragon Blade, starring Jackie Chan, John Cusack and Adrien Brody, which took $95m.

The Lunar New Year, which ran from 18-24 February, has become a peak cinema-going time in China and the holiday period is traditionally kept clear of foreign films.

Valentine's Day is also a popular celebration in China and many couples visit cinemas to mark the occasion.

For the rest of the month the biggest Hollywood films were The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.

Before February, the biggest box office month ever in China was July last year with $580m, thanks to Transformers: Age of Extinction's release that month. 

China's film industry is growing at a rapid rate with more and more screens being built for its population of 1.3 billion, many of whom are moving to urban areas. 

American Sniper has taken $331.1m in North America since its release and could become the highest grossing film of 2014 if it overtakes The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.