China's Wanda Film Warns of $226M Loss After 6 Months of Cinema Shutdowns

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDelayed by over a year for mysterious political reasons, epic Chinese war film “The Eight Hundred” has finally locked down a date for release in theaters.It will open in conventional and Imax cinemas in China from Aug. 21, making it one of the first outings for a high-profile local film since Chinese cinemas hesitantly returned to operation in late July.The $80 million film was produced by Huayi Brothers and is directed by Guan Hu (Mister Six”).

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorHeat around music video sharing app Tiktok racheted up Friday as President Donald Trump said he’s considering taking steps to ban the service, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance amid reports that Microsoft — yes Microsoft — is interested in buying it.The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has been weighing whether the Trump Administration should force Beijing-based ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations.

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.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterIMAX China has issued a profit warning to the Hong Kong stock exchange with the company having taken a beating from the COVID-19 shutdown this year.The large-format exhibitor said it was forecasting a net loss of $34M-36M for the six months to Jun 30, 2020, in contrast with a net profit of $24M for the same period in 2019.The contributing factors will be no surprise to anyone – the operator was forced to shutdown all of its 700 IMAX theaters in China from

Rebecca Davis editorImax China, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Imax, has warned that it expects a net loss between $34 and $36 million for the first half of the year, as cinema closures in the country due to COVID-19 have slammed exhibition firms. The 2020 figures stand in contrast to a net profit of $24 million in the same period last year.

leading universities could lose millions in tuition fees if escalating tensions between the UK and China leads to Beijing discouraging students from studying overseas. Both Glasgow and Edinburgh have been increasingly reliant on cash generated by the thousands of Chinese students who arrive in Scotland each year to study at the country's historic seats of learning.

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.

As cinemas in China look to reopen on Monday amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Imax Corp. has signed a 20-theater deal with Chinese industry giant Wanda Film Co.

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorImax China has expanded its decade long partership with Wanda Film Co.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s largest cinema chain operator Wanda Film said Tuesday that it anticipates reporting a net loss of between $214 and $228 million (RMB 1.5 to 1.6 billion) in the first half of the year, after cinemas were shut for almost that entire time due to COVID-19. In contrast, the firm saw a net profit of $75 million (RMB 524 million) during the same period last year.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese production firm Aim Media has sold the North American rights of director Yang Lina’s “Spring Tide” to distributor China Lion. Smart Cinema, the new venture by former Wanda executive Jack Gao, has also bought the rights to screen the film on its platform in South Korea.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Leading Russian animation outfit Riki Group has signed a deal with Beijing-based producer and distributor Joy Culture and Chinese platform Tencent Video to partner on season four of animated series The Fixies.Following its acquisition of the show’s third season, Tencent will now invest in the production of 52 new episodes of the series, which follows the comical misadventures of Tom Thomas and his secret friendship with Simka and Nolik, two young