Overseas Expansion Of IMAX Movie Theaters Signals Growth, Strength Of Film Industry

The act of “going to the movies” is far removed from what the outing entailed 80 years ago. Sure, ticket prices have increased - but so have movie production standards and overall quality. While audiences of that era wanted to see the big names of the day taking on new roles, today we have movie stars backed up by computer-generated magic. Today’s technology is truly stunning and can really convince us, as we sit in a dark movie theater looking for an escape from the mundane, that what we’re seeing was really filmed on location. The IMAX film system is just one of the many movie industry improvements made over the past few decades, and its crowd-pleaser status might explain why 40 of the theaters are coming to China.

According to screendaily.com, which is the digital arm of Screen International, IMAX and cinema chain Jiangsu Omnijoi have entered into an agreement to build the aforementioned theaters where the high-resolution large format films are screened. What’s more, the 40 new theaters bring the total count of IMAX systems to 72.

“As one of the fastest-growing cinema developers in China, Omnijoi Cinemas is determined to deliver moviegoers premier entertainment experiences, and we are delighted to expand our partnership at such a significant level,” IMAX head Richard L. Gelfond told screendaily.com. IMAX films were developed in the 1960s and 1970s are theaters for the movies topped 1,100 across 69 countries.

The expansion of the awe-inducing IMAX theater setting comes as no surprise to Ivanhoe Pictures. The Los Angeles-based film production company, which also has offices in Beijing and New York City, has been paying close attention to the movie industry in China. Given the multi-million dollar overseas earnings there of U.S. franchises such as “Resident Evil,” “Fate of the Furious,” and “xXx,” it’s no surprise that other film-related industries such as IMAX are growing in China.

Ivanhoe Pictures, which works to produce film and television shows both in the U.S. and overseas, is no stranger to box office hits: with Fox International Pictures, Ivanhoe produced director Na Hong-Jin’s “The Wailing,” which was Fox’s second largest-grossing film to date in South Korea, at $50 million U.S. dollars.

Suspected Slump In Overseas Movie Revenue No Issue For Well-Positioned Production Studios

Hollywood went global long ago. That’s no knock against an industry designed to fill theater seats and make money regardless of where the audience may be physically located. Well-positioned production companies were also able to seize on the shift and better position themselves to work with international partners to produce top-rated television shows and films. One such production company is Ivanhoe Pictures, which was formed in 2013 and now boasts offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Hong Kong. The company produces and finances film and television projects both at home and overseas. Thanks to their various partnerships, Ivanhoe has produced local language films in India, South Korea, and China. In fact, South Korean film “The Wailing” is Fox’s second-highest grossing film in Korea ever, earning some $50 million in U.S. dollars.

Such success is what keeps quality content available for consumers, but news reports indicate fluxuations do occur. According to a spring 2017 New York Post report, the overseas market for Hollywood films raked in just $27.2 billion in 2016 – which is $1 billion less than it did the year before. The lower estimate, which comes from the Motion Picture Association of America, was blamed on the exchange rate of dollars between the U.S. and China. To that end, the report adds that the picture changes for the better when receipts of movie tickets are added up in local currencies of the various international markerts. All told, box office movies made a combined $38.6 billion in 2016. Also of interest in the revenue department, the report adds that an average U.S. movie ticket cost $8.65 and total movie admissions here tallied 1.32 billion in 2016.

Unbdoubtedly, these are all immensely large figures and all help to reveal the fact that going to the movies remains a popular activity. With that in mind, production companies like Ivanhoe Pictures continue to work toward making quality films and television programs that entertain and enlighten audiences regardless of where they are shown. For more information on Ivanhoe Pictures, its filmography, and recent press coverage, visit ivanhoepictures.com.