How China Is Reopening Movie Theaters Faster Than The U.S. During The Pandemic

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.

coronavirus continues to recede in China’s capital. Cinemas in parts of the city deemed at low risk of cross-infection began admitting moviegoers under social distancing rules.

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.

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.

Netflix has acquired Paramount and Nickelodeon's The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Runfor international markets, excluding China where the streaming giant has no presence. Domestically, the film is bypassing a theatrical release and will instead debut on premium VOD in early 2021 before soaking up an exclusive spot on CBS All Access, ViacomCBS previously said.

Ted Johnson Attorney General William Barr blasted Hollywood on Thursday for what he characterized as self-censorship to appease China and ensure entry into its marketplace, to the extent that studios have given the Communist Party “a massive propaganda coup.”Barr made the remarks in a speech on Thursday at at the Gerald R.

Anthony D'Alessandro Editorial Director/Box Office EditorBREAKING: Those theaters in low risk areas in China “can resume business in an orderly manner” as early as Monday, July 20, the China Film Administration announced in a recent notice.There were rumblings in foreign distribution that China would start reopening on this date, however, sources weren’t so sure whether that meant simply that the Shanghai Film Festival would take place at this time (and thus, movie theaters would reopen).

Rebecca Davis editorChina will begin reopening cinemas in “low-risk regions” from July 20, the China Film Administration announced Thursday, ending nearly six months of closures that left thousands of theaters bankrupt. “Cinemas in low-risk regions can resume business in an orderly manner on July 20, with the effective implementation of prevention and control measures.

Henry Golding is nabbed his next starring role in The Tiger’s Apprentice.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese movie “Double World” will forgo a theatrical premiere in favor of a simultaneous online debut on Netflix and China’s streaming service iQiyi, the film’s producers announced.The news comes as China’s cinemas have yet to offer a timeline for reopening despite nearly six months of closures. The film will stream via iQiyi in China on July 24 and via Netflix elsewhere in the world, as the Western platform is blocked in the mainland.

China's largest cinema chain operator Wanda Film said it expects to lose $214 to $228 million (RMB 1.5 to 1.6 billion) in the first half of 2020 thanks to over five months on continual cinema shutdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The decline represents a stark reversal of fortunes from the $75 million profit the Chinese exhibition giant reported during the same period in 2019.