BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese movies earned 4.25 billion yuan (662.7 million U.S. dollars) in overseas markets in 2017, 11.19 percent more than the year before, according to Friday's China Film News.

"Wolf Warrior 2," which topped the domestic box office, also took the lead in overseas revenue among nearly 100 Chinese movies released overseas with 7.6 million U.S. dollars in 2017, the newspaper said.

With 20 film cooperation agreements signed with countries including India, Russia and Spain last year, China's movie industry gained vitality.Meanwhile, nearly 50 international film festivals promoting Chinese movies added momentum to cultural exchanges, according to the newspaper.

Major international film festivals paid close attention to Chinese movies. For example, "A Gentle Night," directed by Qiu Yang, won the best short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Duan Yihong, a Chinese actor, won best actor at the Tokyo International Film Festival. They showed improvement in the quality of domestic movies in 2017.

Increased demand from overseas Chinese for Chinese movies created a new market, and Chinese movies opened a window for the world to learn more about China, said Su Jia, deputy head of CMC Pictures, a film company taking Chinese movies abroad.