China's box office revenue topped the U.S. for the first time ever in February

(Image credit: iStock)

last updated 2 March 2015

For the first time ever, Hollywood is lagging behind China in monthly film revenue.

In February, Chinese theaters made $650 million in box office sales, while the U.S. only made $640 million, according to research firm Entgroup. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Lunar New Year movie sales helped China beat the U.S., along with the rest of the world.

In China, February's top-grossing film was The Man From Macau II, followed by Dragon Blade. Before February, China's biggest box-office month was July 2014, with $580 million in box-office sales, due in large part to the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction.