Fast and furious? China's stalling box office points to consumer slowdown

By Adam Jourdan SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's cinemas are showing signs of weakness, a concern for policymakers who had looked to stellar box office receipts over the last half-decade as a sign consumers were picking up some of the slack from ailing exports and manufacturing. July sales slumped further, data from box office tracker EntGroup showed. Stalling sales suggest belt-tightening by China's consumers is hitting even small luxuries and everyday discretionary spending, a concern for the Hollywood producers wooing China and for Beijing as it struggles to stoke domestic demand.