Global box office for films rise 4 percent in 2013

(Reuters) - The global box office receipts from all films released in 2013 rose 4 percent to $35.9 billion, due to a five percent increase in international box office, according to the Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2013. The Chinese box office grew 27 percent to $3.6 billion, becoming the first international market to exceed $3 billion in box office, according to the report released by the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA). The U.S., Canada box office was $10.9 billion from $10.8 billion a year earlier. Box office collections in the Asia Pacific region reached $10.9 billion, surpassing EMEA as the top region in international box office, the report said. The report also said that over 80 percent of the nearly 135,000 cinema screens around the world are now digital. (Reporting by Rohit T. K. in Bangalore. Editing by Andre Grenon)