A poster of popular movies both at home and abroad in 2016 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The year 2016 may not have smashed any box office records, but Chinese movie fans still had their favorites.

China's overall box office takings to date have surpassed 44 billion yuan ($6.3 billion), remaining the second most lucrative movie market, a position it has held for five consecutive years.

However, a rush of blockbusters at the end of the year, has not translated to success at the box office this year.

Some movie critics and media have used the phrase "start with a booming state but ending in recession" to describe the performance of the 2016 movie market.

At the heart of the matter, state-of-the-art technology, IMAX visual effects and superstars do not guarantee a hit movie. Chinese movie goers pay more attention to the quality and material of the movies.

As the New Year is around the corner, let's take stock of ten qualified movies in China. They may not represent the ten most successful movies in terms of commercial values, but they have stirred up plenty of discussion on the internet. See also have they rated on Douban, the Chinese version of IMBD.