The poster of drama "Fleet of Time". [Photo/Agencies]

According to Chinese film maker Zhang Zhiyuan, the decreasing age of filmgoers has caused a slump for historical and artistic films such as "The Crossing: Part 1" and "The Golden Era," which depicts an important 20th-century female writer in China.

Zhang cited a report on his sina.com blog that said the average age of mainstream cinema-goers has decreased to 21.4 and continues to drop, leading to hard times for traditional dramas that do not cater to young people's tastes.

Zhang Huijun, president of the Beijing Film Academy, told Xinhua that 21.4 may not be the exact figure for the average age, as Chinese cinemas do not check customers' identities when buying movie tickets, but the trend toward younger movie audiences is obvious.

"We are glad to see more young people going to cinemas. They are not only in favor of big screens and sound effects, but also consider it a way to socialize," said Zhang.