China's summer movie ticket sales nearly halved amid sluggish economy

WASHINGTON — Movie ticket sales in China have generated more than $1.5 billion so far this summer, a little more than half of last year's record total of $2.89 billion, according to China’s Film Data Information Network, an institution directly under the Central Propaganda Department.  Summer is usually one of three lucrative periods for China's movie industry, but industry analysts, observers and customers say a slower economy and a lack of creative domestic films are to blame for the decline.