China's Enlight Media Reports 76.5 Percent Profit Increase for 2012

Chinese production company Enlight Media -- the producers of actor-director Xu Zheng’s box office record-breaker Lost in Thailand -- have announced a 76.5 percent year-on-year increase in net profit for 2012.

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In a notice sent out on Wed. evening, the company reported net profits of $49.8 million (310.2 million yuan), up from $28 million (175.8 million yuan) in 2011, with operating income rising from $112 million (697.9 million yuan) in 2011 to $165 million (1.03 billion yuan) last year.

'Lost in Thailand' Is China's Biggest Movie - and It's Not Even in 3D

The company attributed the increase to soaring box office earnings for its films, with its 12 releases taking $257 million (1.6 billion yuan), of which the vast majority – $202 million (1.26 yuan) -- came from Lost in Thailand.

Made for just $4.8 million (30 million yuan), the fun-loving road comedy Lost in Thailand came out of nowhere in 2012 to become China’s highest grossing domestic film of all time.

Enlight’s reported 2012 earnings total makes it the second biggest studio in the Chinese market for the year. Its box office revenue amounts to 9.4 percent of the country’s total annual box office of $2.74 billion (17.1 billion), leapfrogging Bona Films, which reported earnings of $117 million (730 million yuan) for 2012. Huayi Brothers remains top in China with $337.5 million (2.1 billion yuan) from its seven releases last year.