Imax First Quarter Revenues Rise on Asian Box Office Recovery

Naman Ramachandran Some 80% of indoor cinemas across England, Scotland and Wales reopened on Monday (May 17) after months of being shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Judging by the first two days of box office collections, U.K.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9” could send the box office into overdrive when it debuts overseas this weekend.The latest entry in Universal’s high-octane franchise, which opens in Korea, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Russia and China in the coming days, is expected to bring in at least $150 million to $180 million at the international box office.

The Toretto family will be back in action this week as Universal’s F9 speeds into early offshore release beginning in Korea and Hong Kong on Wednesday, followed by Russia and the Middle East on Thursday and China on Friday. In those markets combined, F9 is looking to drive off with an opening weekend in the $160M-$180M range, industry sources believe, though it could go higher.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Chinese government’s increasing regulation of the tech sector is a current concern for China’s major internet and online entertainment companies. But the latest quarterly results announcement for China’s biggest digital music company, Tencent Music Entertainment pointed to business as usual, at least for the moment.First quarter revenues, spanning the January to March 2021 period, at Tencent Music grew by 26% year on year.

Refresh for latest…: A significant week is ahead at the international box office as Universal’s F9 starts its engines in a handful of major markets including China, Russia and Korea — and as the UK and France will reopen cinemas after a roughly seven-month shutdown. In the meantime, Fast & Furious franchise alum Jason Statham’s Wrath Of Man was the main overseas Hollywood title this session, lifting its offshore cume to $41.4M for $56M global.

Smart TV maker Vizio exceeded Wall Street analyst forecasts for its first quarterly report as a public company, posting revenue of $505.7 million and earnings of 2 cents a share.

Refresh for latest…: Yet another international box office frame was led by Chinese movies in their home market as local May Day holdovers continued play coming off a record holiday session. While a handful of studio titles are doing business in other pockets of the world, we are in something of a holding pattern until majors like the UK and France begin opening in the coming weeks, and as Universal’s F9 is expected to rev up overseas turnstiles for Hollywood starting on May 19.

Yahoo Finance. Cinemark actually posted a loss of $1.75 per share on $114.4 million in revenue.Of that revenue figure, $56.1 million came from ticket sales and $39.5 million at the concessions stand.For the sake of a comparison, Cinemark lost $59.4 million in the first quarter of 2020, or -51 cents per share.

Danielle Fogarty has shared gorgeous photos after inviting her closest friends and family to a gorgeous baby shower this weekend.The fashion entrepreneur was treated to a beautifully arranged afternoon surrounded by her nearest and dearest as she gears up to welcome her baby.The gold-themed event featured boho-inspired table settings and a huge balloon arch with the words ‘oh baby’ on it was pulled together by events company Walter and The Boy.

Refresh for latest…: After a couple of relatively slow sessions, China turned up the heat again this weekend as the five-day May Day/Labor Day holiday dawned. At least 10 new local titles released across Friday and Saturday with romance drama My Love in the lead through Sunday at an estimated RMB 424M ($65M).

Dish Network reported that it lost about 230,000 net pay TV subscribers in the first quarter, compared with a decline of 413,000 in the year-ago period and a drop of 133,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020. The latest quarter's figures include subscribers to the traditional Dish pay TV service, as well as the Sling TV streaming service.

Imax’s first-quarter results showed signs of the movie industry’s rebound from the depths of Covid-19 a year ago, and the numbers met Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaThe coronavirus pandemic continued to be a drag on IMAX’s earnings during the first quarter, but there were signs that a box office revival in Asia could foreshadow a moviegoing return in the U.S. and other markets.

NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock had 42 million signups in the first quarter — up from the 33 million it reported three months ago — benefiting from the recent addition of exclusive domestic streaming rights to WWE Network and The Office.

Yahoo Finance. Comcast reported adjusted EPS of 76 cents on $27.2 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 31.In other good news, Comcast reported that its young streaming service Peacock has now hit 42 million sign-ups in its first quarter as home to “The Office” and WWE Network programming.“We are off to a great start in 2021.

YouTube continues to grow at a torrid pace, with any sign of pandemic slowdown seemingly behind it. The Google-owned video platform brought in more than $6 billion in advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2021, according to the quarterly earnings report of parent company Alphabet.

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/Legendary’s Godzilla Vs Kong has reached a new global benchmark, crossing $400M with a cume through Sunday of $406.6M worldwide. Of that, $320M comes from the international box office in 41 markets. The monster mash, already the biggest Hollywood movie of the pandemic era, continues to track above its Monsterverse predecessors. It is the highest-grossing of the films in China, Russia, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mexico.

Combined, the two films are projected to push overall weekend grosses to $57 million, triple the $19 million seen last weekend and 20% ahead of the $47.5 million grossed on the opening weekend of “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Based on the long-running, ultraviolent fighting game series, “MortTal Kombat” was produced on a $55 million budget and has a 56% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a B+ on CinemaScore and an 89% RT audience score.