China Archives - Celluloid Junkie

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Chinese Cinema Openings Below 60%

The number of cinemas in China that are open has fallen below 60%, as “temporary” lockdowns related to the country’s Zero Covid policy continues to drag down the industry. As of 25 October there were 7,395 cinemas in operation, a decline of 109 from the day before. The operating ra…

Chinese $450m Cinema Merger Points to Recovery

Chinese cinema operator Hengdian Film and Television (known as HG Entertainment) looks set to become the country’s second largest operator, following a proposed Shanghai Xingyi Cinema. This is the first large-scale merger and acquisition in China since the start of the pandemic, and points to…

Uncharted China Poster

Cinemas in China Face New Wave of Closures

Cinemas across several parts of China have closed as part of regional lockdowns in response to outbreaks of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. This comes after cinemas in China enjoyed a long period of remaining open following the first lockdown two years ago. China’s Zero Covid policy means tha…

AET Cinema LED Display - Certification

New Chinese Cinema LED Gets DCI Certification

Chinese company AET Altai has become the latest manufacturer to get DCI certification for its Cinema LED screen technology. AET Altai thus joins the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG Electronics in having a non-projector cinema display solution that is certified to show first-run Hollywood films. The ce…

After Bumper BO Holiday, China’s Cinemas Face Uncertain Months Ahead

The success of cinema releases in China over the Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year) was a shot in the arm for the global theatrical business and proof that audiences are prepared to flock back to cinemas, once they feel safe and tentpole titles are released. Total BO in China in February reached…

A Cinema Superpower: China, One Year On

It’s a little over a year since the World changed forever. The Covid 19 pandemic, originating in China, would force the closure of all of their cinemas creating a domino effect that would see the cinema industry come to a standstill. It was on 23rd January 2020, on the eve of the Spring Festival (mo…

60 Days, 150M Visitors, $795m Box Office: How Did Chinese Cinemas Recover So Fast Post COVID-19?

The story began in late January, when all the Chinese New Year new films were pulled and cinemas were ordered to close, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in China. A year with anticipations for the highest box-office record turned into the lowest in recent years. As many might know, the Chinese New Ye…

CJ Opinion: PwC Keeps Embarrassing Itself With Its China Cinema Predictions

Nobody can deny the importance of China as a cinema market, having overtaken the United States in screen count in December 2016 and has the second biggest box office in the world after North America. Now consultant and audit group PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) is predicting that China’s box offi…

Chinese Cinemas Continue Strong Growth in First Half of 2018

The Chinese cinema industry has seen strong growth figures in the first six month of 2018 – with one critical exception. Box office growth was mainly driven by local titles, while the pace of opening new cinemas showed little sign of slowing down, based on figures released by the National Film…

On-demand cinema in China.

Regulation of On-Demand Cinemas Could Boost China’s Box Office

Despite the recent box office success of the Chinese New Year festival, the long term growth of the market is not assured, due to over-building and lower cinema attendance in Tier Three to Five cities. Because of this hopes are pinned on the rapidly growing on-demand cinema market, sometimes also ca…