Imax CEO Richard Gelfond on What China’s Huge Theatrical Recovery Means for Hollywood

Long-rumored for a China re-release, James Cameron’s Avatar suddenly popped onto the calendar this week. The erstwhile highest-grossing film of all time worldwide will hit Middle Kingdom cinemas on Friday, March 12.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGiant-screen cinema company Imax and Greater China exhibition company Broadway have struck a deal to build four additional Imax theaters in mainland China’s biggest city Shanghai. The agreement means that Imax is on course to have close to 1,000 venues in operation in mainland China.All four downtown Shanghai sites will adopt top-end laser technology.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s top law-making body will consider this week a popular proposition to ban actors who have used drugs from entertainment industry for life at its annual weeklong meeting, which kicked off Friday.The National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber stamp parliament, counts some 3,000 professionals from across the country as delegates, including directors Jia Zhangke, Feng Xiaogang and Chen Kaige, as well as Jackie Chan and Yao Ming.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefImax China, the supplier of giant screen cinema facilities and services in Greater China, is one of the purest plays on the mainland Chinese movie exhibition market available to investors.

Imax posted lower revenues during its fourth quarter, compared to pre-pandemic 2019, but an Asian box office resurgence helped the giant screen exhibitor offset a continuing hit to its North American theaters from the COVID-19 crisis. On Thursday, Imax reported a loss attributable to shareholders at $21.2 million, compared to a year-earlier profit of $18.2 million, and the adjusted loss per share was 21 cents, compared with a 35 cents-per-share profit in 2019.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaImax’s quarterly revenue beat Wall Street’s expectations even as its losses were steeper than expected. The theater company reported revenues of $56 million, a 55% drop from the prior-year quarter’s revenues of $124.3 million.

Imax sales slumped last quarter but beat Wall Street estimates and it swung to a loss. The stock popped in late trading as the company highlighted a strong box office in China and Japan, upbeat outlook and continued sales of its big-screen systems despite the pandemic.

Exactly one year ago, Chinese film buyers were almost entirely absent from Berlin's European Film Market as broad swaths of the world's second-biggest economy remained in a state of total shutdown. Business in the U.S.

Pierre Morel’s upcoming action thrillerThe Blacksmith, which recently lost its star Nick Jonas due to a scheduling conflict, has a deal in place for the important China market. Beijing-based distributor Infotainment China Media picked up rights to the film ahead of Berlin's European Film Market and plans to stick with the project despite the casting change-up.

GQ article of the same name by Alex W. Palmer.

EXCLUSIVE: Jon M. Chu is set to direct The Great Chinese Art Heist for Warner Bros. based on the GQ article by Alex W. Palmer.

In the span of six days, the Chinese box office roared to a $1.2B Lunar New Year record, with Wanda Pictures’ Detective Chinatown 3 setting global benchmarks for the biggest opening day and weekend in a single market.

On Wednesday, Chinese New Year box office achieved yet another new milestone with grosses for the holiday period growing to an estimated RMB 7.78B ($1.2B). This beats the previous all-time high set during the comparable 2019 holiday (RMB 5.9B). China often outdoes itself, but the fact that 2021’s Lunar New Year frame came with Covid capacity restrictions makes the performance even more staggering.

Shares in Imax surged after China's Lunar New Year holiday propelled tentpoles like Detective Chinatown 3 and Hi, Mom to blowout box office performances. Market analysts and beleaguered North American exhibitors are watching China's holiday opening weekend this year for signs of an eventual full recovery globally from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exhibition stocks, paced by Imax, are moving higher as investors react to explosive weekend box office in China and a belief that Stateside theaters may soon see a similar release of pent-up demand.

Detective Chinatown 3 has broken Avengers: Endgame‘s record for the highest grossing opening weekend at the box office in a single market.The 2019 Marvel film made $357million (£256m) on its first weekend in the US, but it has now been eclipsed in China.Despite cinemas being closed in many parts of the world, Chinese film fans are now able to see new releases in theatres, and the third film in the Detective Chinatown franchise – released at the weekend in line with the Chinese New Year – has

Refresh for latest…: Chinese moviegoers ushered in the Year of the Ox with the colossal three-day debut of Detective Chinatown 3 grossing an estimated RMB 2.56B ($397M). This tops Avengers: Endgame’s 2019 five-day China bow of RMB 2.22B to make DC3 not only the biggest opener in Chinese history, but also giving it bragging rights to the biggest opening weekend ever in a single market — overtaking Endgame’s North American launch of $357M from April 2019.