Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, said: "Last year, a significant chapter was written in the history of Chinese cinema, reflecting that homegrown films have made great improvement in expanding their diversity.

"The two highest-grossing movies, Ne Zha and The Wandering Earth — which together earned 9.68 billion yuan — boosted the morale of domestic filmmakers," Rao said after Beijing newspaper Securities Daily reported that with 1,884 film and television companies having closed, the local industry was "struggling in a severe winter".