BEIJING (Reuters) - China's movie box office revenue is expected to grow this year at more than three times the pace of last year, thanks to the success of blockbusters like Wolf Warrior 2, the media regulator said on Friday.

Takings would rise 11.6 per cent to US$8.31 billion (S$11.3 billion) this year, beating 2016 growth of 3.7 per cent, said Mr Zhang Hongsen, vice-minister of the State Administration Of Press, Publication, Radio, Film And Television.

Wolf Warrior 2, a patriotic action movie that has raked in US$845.59 million to become China's highest-grossing film, depicts a Chinese hero fighting Western mercenaries in a war-torn African country.

China's film regulators have submitted it in the foreign-language category at the 2018 Oscars.

After disappointing box office growth in 2016, regulators announced that all sales grosses would include service fees for each ticket purchased online.

This has boosted this year's growth although movie-makers see little of the additional revenue.