Chinese movie conglomerate Hengdian Films has inked a contract to fit Imax with Laser premium large format screen systems at 20 of its cinema locations. The order is the Imax’s largest recorded during the past four years.
Hengdian Films is a pre-existing Imax client and the new deal will expand its Imax screen count to 27 when completed. The new laser screens will be located at Jingdezhen, Ulanqab and Zhangjiakou, all first-ever cities in China for Imax. Hengdian will also add Imax screens in new locations within Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Jiujiang, Hohhot and Yangzhou. Others have yet to be clarified.
China is already Imax’s largest single market worldwide by screen numbers. At the end of 2022, it had 794 screens in operation. That compares with 441 in North America.
The Imax Corp. parent company recently attempted to take private its Hong Kong-listed Imax China subsidiary, whose shares have sunk since an IPO in 2015. But the move was blocked by minority shareholders. Those on both sides of the proposal argued that China remains a major growth market for the company.
Box office in China recovered strongly during the Chinese New Year and mid-summer seasons and the year-to-date 2023 aggregate is only 10% below 2019 levels. The rebound, though now slowing, has been powered by a mix of local films and the occasional imported hit.
Imax earned more than $18.4 million in China with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” — and garnered 30% of the film’s opening weekend box office on less than 1% of Chinese screens.
Chinese fantasy epic “Creation of The Gods” also became Imax China’s all-time best summer title, with Imax screens accounting for 10% of the film’s total box office.Earlier in 2023, “The Wandering Earth 2” became Imax’s highest grossing local-language film of all time.
Shanghai stockmarket-listed Hengdian Films is known for its vast studio space, but also spans film and television investment, production, distribution and exhibition. Its cinema exhibition operation now covers 503 theatre complexes with a total of 3,154 screens (of which 421 locations with 2,686 screens are directly operated theaters) in 197 cities.
“This year has been pivotal for the industry’s revival. From Chinese New Year to the summer season, moviegoers have consistently shown strong enthusiasm and demand for high-quality content and a premium experience. Together with IMAX, we look forward to creating a more immersive and colorful cinematic journey for audiences across more cities,” said Xu Tianfu, chairman of Hengdian Films.
