KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — The China Film Administration will be giving away 100 million yuan (RM65.91 million) worth of film coupons from now to October to encourage consumption.

According to Global Times, the move was to kick start a nationwide campaign to boost the film industry that had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apart from boosting filmmakers, the administration hoped the effort will lead to supporting the construction of cinemas in rural areas with efforts that include tax and rent exemptions.

Prior to the announcement of the campaign, cinemas in China had been reporting an increase of viewership partly due to the summer holiday and the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic in Beijing and Shanghai.

As of Tuesday, the overall box office during the summer film season had surpassed seven billion yuan (RM4.61 billion).

The current top-ranked film Moon Man has earned 2.2 billion yuan (RM1.45 billion) at the box office as of Thursday since its release two weeks ago.