Beijing partly reopens movie theaters as virus declines

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorHarry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone worked some magic in China on Friday with Warner Bros’ 3D reissue conjuring $4.6M. This is by far the biggesst single-day gross since cinemas resumed operations, overtaking the opening of WB’s earlier re-release of Chirstopher Nolan’s Interstellar by 66% (though that film bowed on a Sunday).

Rebecca Davis editorCinemas in some parts of China have been told that they may now sell up to 50% of their available tickets for each screening and play films over two hours in length without restrictions starting from Aug.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChina’s third Friday back to the movies scored a slight increase on last week’s comparable day at $4.38M. It’s short of the $7.6M generated last Sunday which was boosted by Warner Bros’ reissue of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, but still a jump on last Friday, while midweeks were solid.

Universal'sDolittletopped China's box office for a second week as the country's cinemas continued their tentative reopening following the novel coronavirus shutdown.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorSATURDAY UPDATE: Since cinemas reopened in China’s low-risk areas on July 20, the market today had its biggest day yet. Box office was $5.74M (RMB 40M) overall for the day, according to Maoyan figures.

After finally confirming a release date in over 70 countries earlier this week, it seems “Tenet” finally passed government approval and can get a theatrical release in China. READ MORE: ‘Tenet’ To Receive International Release First, Limited US Rollout From Labor Day The news comes from Variety, with a report that Warner Bros.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Beijing International Film Festival will go ahead after all, organizers announced Wednesday.The festival was originally scheduled for late April, but was postponed in March due to the coronavirus outbreak. It was replaced with a hastily pulled together online event in early May, operated in partnership with streaming platform iQIYI.Now, the 10th edition of the BJIFF will run Aug.

Olympics production unit last November, she expected to be in Tokyo right now with the games in full swing. But with the Summer Olympics postponed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Solomon and her team have reset their countdown clocks while trying to adjust to a new set of challenges.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese cinephiles are getting an early taste of what life may look under the continued reign of coronavirus: a series of sudden shutdowns with no clear end date in hotspots to contain the disease’s spread.China’s cinemas began to slowly reopen on Monday after nearly six months of coronavirus-imposed closures.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorWith some of China’s cinemas reopened this week in low-risk areas, and as tomorrow sees Beijing get partially back to business as well, box office has continued to rise. As of 11:30PM tonight local time, Thursday’s takings hit $940K, according to ticketing service Maoyan.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAs expected, Chinese authorities have given the go-ahead for cinemas in Beijing to reopen this coming Friday. That’s also when the first new Hollywood titles will hit the market, including Dolittle and Bloodshot.

Rebecca Davis editorBeijing is set to reopen cinemas again in its “low-risk areas” on Friday, July 24, officials said, but attendance will be capped at 30% and no concessions sold.

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterSince the top of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a surge in racism against Asians and Pacific Islander (API) which has been bolstered by Donald Trump and his administration’s consistent use of the terms “Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu” to describe COVID-19.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAs Chinese cinemas began the reopening process today, box office crossed $472K by 8PM local. Maoyan’s real-time ticketing platform reports that play is led by new entry A First Farewell at around $184K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina reopened the doors of its cinemas on Monday, after nearly five months of closure. But audiences only trickled in.The re-opening was restricted to theaters in cities and regions where the coronavirus is deemed to have been vanquished.

We’ve been too busy debating whether it’s right to open up movie theaters that we never stopped to consider the runtime of the movies waiting to open in theaters. Turns out, China already has a possible answer, as the country’s plans to reopen cinemas on July 20 will be limited to movies that run at two hours or less.

Action pic Bloodshot and adventure epic Dolittle will open in China on July 24, becoming the first Hollywood movies to play there since theaters closed in late January amid the coronavirus pandemic. Oscar winner 1917 will open in the world's second-largest moviegoing market a week later.