Homegrown blockbusters that did well during the Spring Festival include Dragon Blade, Wolf Totem and The Man from Macao II. [Photo/China Daily]

For the US, the most-anticipated box-office season is summer, from late May to August, and the holiday season, from Thanksgiving to the New Year.

"However, China has never surpassed the US at the same time before," Yuan says, "We estimate that it will take three to five years for China to lead the world's movie market."

In 2012, a report from Ernst &Young predicted that China will succeed America as the top cinema-going market in about 2020.

A year later, Entgroup made a more optimistic forecast. It predicted China's box office will reach $11.3 billion in 2017, overtaking the US for the first time. The forecast was based on China's fast-expanding market, with an annual growth rate of 25 percent compared to the US slowing to 1 percent.

Although China's dominance came much sooner than predicted, some industry insiders think the Chinese movie market is not as mature as its American counterpart and it is too early to celebrate.

"The achievement is positive. But it is not entirely accurate to say that China has already beaten the US," says Cheng Jiaqi, managing director of Fundamental Films, a Shanghai-based firm with close ties to the North American and European markets.

Cheng says that the Chinese market needs more blockbusters tailored for local audiences, and added that many people in small-and medium-sized cities are not yet used to going to see films on the big screen.

The veteran film insider says comedy may become one of the dominant genres at the box office in the coming years.