Chinese domestic film 'Monster Hunt', a box office smash in 2015, has been caught up in a fraud scandal.
It's reported that 6 million dollars worth of its 370 million box office total, actually came from the pockets of the producers.
It's been revealed that 43 days after 'Monster Hunt' hit theatres, the production company bought tickets from 29 cinemas to show the movie to selective groups of audiences for free, which the company described as a public-welfare activity.
Chen Bin, an industry insider, said the so-called philanthropy amounted to cheating on tickets sales.
"Making block bookings under the guise of public service gets people to question the real purpose of the producer. Was that purely for public good? The behavior belongs to plagiarism."
The producer says they paid for the block booking, fair and square, and so the takings should count towards the total box office.
An investigation has suggested that the free screenings attracted few viewers, but one report by a participating theatre said the seat occupancy rate of some midnight sessions had achieved an unbelievable 108 per cent.
'Ip Man 3" was also investigated due to fraud allegations, only two days after being released in early March. Its distribution company has been barred from business temporarily by the authorities.
