China's rapid box office sales growth this year was due to price hikes of a few blockbusters, rather than an increase of film-goers, said an official with the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT)?in Beijing?Tuesday.

Mao Yu, vice director of SARFT's film administrative bureau, made the remark at a ceremony hosted by Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd. to promote 18 home-made films.

So far, the box office sales of the mainland this year have reached 8 billion yuan (1.2 billion US dollars), while total box office sales last year stood at 6.2 billion yuan, said Mao.

However, he said, it was mainly due to ticket price increases of several Chinese made and Hollywood blockbusters such as "Aftershock," "The Founding of a Republic" and "Avatar," while the number of cinema-goers so far totaled 200 million, almost the same year on year.

Mao said increasing distribution of home-made medium and small budget films would help expand the audience numbers.

Gu Guoqing, president of Huaxia, distributor of the 18 home-made films, signed distribution agreements with 37 cinema chain companies across China to promote the medium and small budget films during the autumn period, including Zhang Yimou's "Under the Hawthorn Tree."