Imax CEO On China Box Office, Big Screen Boom & Company’s New Side Business
deadline.comImax chief executive Rich Gelfond said he’s never seen China let as many U.S. titles into country as early as they have this year.
After a slowdown in the pace that caused some angst in Hollywood, there’s been a steady stream of releases — although not necessarily a surge in ticket sales — with The Flash, The Little Mermaid and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny all cleared and upcoming and Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning likely to be, he told the J.P.
Morgan media conference today. In the past, “they would play little games” and approve films last minute, “but now they are interested in getting their economy jumpstarted and getting people back into malls.” The results have been mixed.
Most recently, Fast X just had a huge opening in China. Little Mermaid presales look slow. The Chinese economy was devastated by Covid and related quarantines, in several waves into last year. “I don’t think it’s…back to normal, because it’s not a light switch…But I think it is headed in that direction at a fairly rapid pace.” Gelfond also talked more about Ssimwave, a Canadian tech company Imax acquired six months ago.
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