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The rapid expansion of theaters and screens also played a major role in the strong growth in ticket sales.

By the end of March, the total number of screens in China had crossed the 20,000 mark, while by the end of 2010, the figure was only about 6,200.

In 2013, 14 screens were added on average per day, and a total of 5,077 screens were added last year.

In the first five months, as many as 420 movie theaters were added, in comparison with the 358 achieved during the same period in 2013, EntGroup said.

Among the newly added theaters, 51 percent were in fifth-tier or even lower-tier cities, while 22 percent of them were in the country's largest cities.

Dadi Digital Cinema, one of China's biggest theater chains by box office revenue, accounted for the lion's share of the 420 theaters with 57 cinemas, Hou Tao, vice-president of EntGroup Consulting, told China Business News.

The expansion of theaters has gradually shifted its focus to lower-tier cities as the larger urban market became more saturated. But the smaller cities show quite a lot of potential, experts said.

"There is room for the number of theaters nationwide to grow to between 40,000 and 50,000, because of the total population as well as people's growing appetite for films," Huang said.