FIVE years ago when the Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster “Avatar” was all the rage in Shanghai, James Wang and his friend queued outside a cinema at 6am just to watch an IMAX 3D version, despite freezing weather and icy winds.

“The film created a craze among Chinese moviegoers, but such wide popularity is now getting harder to reproduce,” says Wang, an IT worker and movie buff. “Hollywood movies did have a golden period in China. However, with audience tastes changing, now is a golden time for Chinese movies to flourish.”

In 1994, Andrew Davis’ “The Fugitive,” starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, was released in China, the first Hollywood movie released on China’s mainland since 1949.

Since then, Hollywood movies have become popular with cinemagoers but industry insiders consider the global spread of Hollywood a double-edged sword.

On one hand, Chinese filmmakers have had more chance to learn from Hollywood in production, marketing and distribution. It has also given a big push to the development of China’s own film industry, 3D theaters and helped nurture and expand the film market.

But on the other hand, they are concerned that audiences are getting so used to movies produced in a trademark Hollywood style that a lot of Chinese films are losing their originality and cultural elements.

In recent years, both officials and movie buffs are glad to see an increasing number of homegrown productions compete well with Hollywood blockbuster imports in the local market. Some offering realistic takes on hot social issues have outperformed many Hollywood movies.

Last year China’s box office revenue soared to 29.6 billion yuan (US4.72 billion) — a 36 percent increase over the previous year. Domestic films raked in more than 16.15 billion yuan, accounting for 54.5 percent of the total takings.

Last month, pushed by the Chinese New Year holiday, witnessed a new monthly high of 4 billion yuan, with domestic films accounting for 75 percent.

Comparatively, in the 1990s, Hollywood imports made up 80 percent of China’s box-office revenues each year.

More than 300 movies were released last year at Chinese cinemas. Earnings of 66 films surpassed the 100-million-yuan benchmark, including 36 domestic productions. In 2013, 60 films surpassed that figure.

Zhang Hongsen, head of the film bureau under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, told media in early February that it is now a crucial phase of growth and development for China’s film industry.

Facing pressures from Hollywood, Chinese films still gained major market share and were welcomed by audiences, said Zhang. He singled out for praise 3D war epic “The Taking of Tiger Mountain,” family drama “Coming Home” and abduction drama “Dearest.”

Directed by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, “The Taking of Tiger Mountain,” set in 1946, tells a story of a spy who disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate the gang.

“Come Home,” by Zhang Yimou, tells of a man returning home to his wife after a long time in prison.

Meanwhile, Peter Chan’s “Dearest” is based on a true story of child abduction on China’s mainland.

Five domestic movies featured among the 10 highest rated films of 2014, with “Transformers: Age of Extinction” topping last year’s box office in China with takings of 1.98 billion yuan.

It was followed by “Breakup Buddies,” a Chinese romantic comedy and road film, which raked in 1.17 billion yuan. The medium-budgeted movie by mainland director Ning Hao outperformed Hollywood blockbusters “Interstellar” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”

Zhang, the film bureau head, was most excited by the rapid increase in cinema audience numbers in China. Last year, Chinese made 830 million trips to the cinema — up 34.5 percent year on year.

As the world’s second-largest film market after the United States, China has over 24,000 screens across the country, with on average, 15 more added each day. Last year Chinese movies also grossed 1.87 billion yuan overseas, up 32 percent.

While these figures make pleasing reading for China’s filmmakers, challenges still lie ahead.

China now permits a total of 34 US films a year to be released in the country, many of them blockbusters with spectacular special effects. In 2017, there will probably be a big increase in the quota of US films.

The challenge for domestic filmmakers is how to build on their share in the face of this growing challenge.

Young Taiwan filmmaker Leste Chen considers it the best of times now for the film industry on China’s mainland in terms of box office. But when it comes to script and cinematography, many domestic filmmakers lag behind Hollywood, he says.

Chen is echoed by movie buff Jeffrey Qiu, a 30-something administrative director. Qiu cites last year’s top-grossing domestic movie “Breakup Buddies” as an example.

“Though it impressed me with funny lines and storytelling skills, the movie is not a top-notch production in originality,” he says. “Its box-office success in China shows how desperately we need a good and creative Chinese story.”

The boom in online video-sharing websites and microblogs is also reshaping China’s film industry.

A recent report from Chinese film industry portal EntGroup found that cinemagoers aged between 19 and 40 account for 87 percent of audience numbers.

The Internet has a particularly strong influence on their lives and it is reflected in movies on offer.

Zhang Baiqing, director of China Film Critics Society, feels disappointed to see a lot of movies based on superficial reality TV shows and Internet short films.

“When a film loses its spirit and soul, people will just take it as trivial cheap entertainment,” Zhang says. “What today’s Chinese cinema lacks is the power to create original, inspiring and thought-provoking works.”

Zhang says many filmmakers are in thrall of online marketing and hype rather than creative content. Films dealing with weightier issues such as news events, science and court cases are rare in Chinese cinema.

Though movies based on hit online videos and novels that tick marketing boxes can help expand the market, they have created a profit-driven approach to filmmaking at the expense of art, says Zhang.

A lack of diversity is another problem facing Chinese cinema, experts say. Currently, there is no rating system for films in China — so all movies released must be suitable for family viewing. Industry figures say if a rating system was introduced, it would give domestic filmmakers more freedom to make movies aimed at adults.

Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai said at a recent forum in Shanghai that there should be more strategic thinking about the future positioning of the Chinese film industry.

Wong compared the film industry in the United States to “a legend of two cities.” Writers in New York offer good creative stories while filmmakers in Hollywood put these stories onto the big screen.

“It is a model that can also be duplicated in China,” he said. “While improving our skills in cinematography and production, we have another urgent job, that is to nurture and discover a few more talented film writers.”

Big movies for 2015

Many big-name US movies are being released this year, with many expected to be shown in China.

Hollywood releases include:

• Sci-fi movies — “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Terminator: Genisys,” “The Force Awakens,” “The Fantastic Four”

• Spy movies — “Mission: Impossible 5,” “Spectre,” the 24th James Bond movie

• Adventure films — “Jurassic World,” the fourth installment in the “Jurassic Park” series

• Action films — “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the fourth movie of Mad Max franchise

• Animation — “Kung Fu Panda 3,” featuring distinctive Chinese elements and landscapes

Chinese productions include:

• “The Ghouls,” based on a hit tomb raider novel

• Comedy road film “Hollywood Adventures”

• Hong Kong police film “Helios,” a new offering from Hong Kong filmmakers Longman Leung and Sunny Luk

• A sequel to “Lost in Thailand,” set against the backdrop of Hong Kong

• “A Monk in a Floating World,” directed by Chen Kaige and telling the story of a monk who finally learns the essence of martial arts after a series of adventures

• “Spring Grows,” a youth movie dubbed the Chinese version of “The Catcher in the Rye”

Ten highest-earning movies of 2014 on China’s mainland

• “Transformers: Age of Extinction” — 1.98 billion yuan

• “Breakup Buddies” — 1.17 billion yuan

• “The Monkey King” — 1.05 billion yuan

• “Interstellar” — 752 million yuan

• “X-Men: Days of Future Past” — 724 million yuan

• “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” — 721 million yuan

• “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” — 711 million yuan

• “Dad, Where Are We Going” — 699 million yuan

• “The Breakup Guru” — 667 million yuan

• “The Continent” — 632 million yuan