BEIJING - China's 2015 box office has already exceeded the 2014 total of 29.6 billion yuan ($4.6 billion).

Chinese cinemas had taken 30 billion yuan by Sunday, 48.5 percent more than in the same period last year, according to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

Chinese movies raked in 18 billion yuan, 60 percent of the total.

Fifty-four films have grossed more than 100 million yuan this year, with five of them earning more than 1 billion yuan.

The figures are another instalment in the success story of the Chinese film industry. Box office exceeded 20 million yuan in the first half, but the summer season has been even more blockbusting. Domestic movies alone took in 9.2 billion yuan from June to August, more than the 9 billion yuan that domestic and foreign films took in June-August 2014.

July set a monthly record for the Chinese box office of 5.5 billion yuan, more than the whole of 2008.

Chinese animation "Monkey King: Hero is Back" has taken in more than 800 million yuan since its release on July 10, making it the highest-grossing animation in Chinese cinemas.

Live action animation "Monster Hunt," the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time, has also pulled in a total box office of 2.415 billion yuan as of Monday since its debut on July 16. It is bound to take this year's top spot from Hollywood blockbuster "Furious 7," with 2.426 billion yuan.

With another four months to go, box office for the entire year is likely to surpass 40 billion yuan, even at a conservatively estimated growth rate of 2.5 billion yuan per month, the SARFT said.