China’s Box-Office Sales Nearly Top $1 Billion in July

China box-office sales surged 37 percent in July to their highest level since at least 2010, propelled by the low-budget hit “Dying to Survive,” according to data from Maoyan Movie. Based on a true story about a struggling shopkeeper who smuggles cheaper cancer drugs from India to help patients, the film accounted for about 44 percent of the month’s 6.5 billion yuan ($952 million) in movie ticket revenue. Local comedy, “Hello Mr. Billionaire” was the second-biggest contributor with 1.2 billion yuan, while “Skyscraper,” the Dwayne Johnson Hollywood action film drew 561 million yuan in third place.