Movie Theaters in Asia Are Thriving Despite Covid, Imax CEO Says1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhile the U.S. box office continues to suffer under the heel of the pandemic, theaters on the other side of the Pacific are attracting customers in droves.
In Japan, a record number of people saw movies in Imax Corp. theaters over the weekend, according to Chief Executive Officer Rich Gelfond. In China, December ticket sales at the company’s big-screen theaters jumped 28% from a year earlier, when few people had heard of the novel coronavirus.
The recovery in demand is one of the few positive signals for Hollywood studios, which saw box-office revenue plummet in 2020 with most U.S. theaters closed and the release of practically all new blockbusters delayed. The industry is now planning its return to semi-normal business in April, hoping customers who have been glued to streaming services for a year will return to theaters after vaccines have been distributed.
Image Credit: Bloomberg
