IMAX to show more Chinese-language films after sci-fi blockbuster The Wandering Earth sets box office record
- IMAX chief financial officer Patrick McClymont says the company would like to grow its theatre network in China to 1,200 cinemas from 639 last year
- Company will spend more on local films through its China Film Fund set up in 2015
IMAX, the Canadian company that patented wide-format film, is betting big on Chinese-language films after the sci-fi blockbuster The Wandering Earth generated record box office earnings for the provider of theatre systems on the mainland.
Chief financial officer Patrick McClymont told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview that China will be able to accommodate 1,200 IMAX screens, nearly double its current number.
“As the network continues to grow, it becomes much more about the content and the value that IMAX is adding,” said McClymont. “The best example of that is The Wandering Earth. That movie really worked very well on IMAX.”
IMAX systems generated about 8 per cent of the sci-fi blockbuster’s total box office takings, which has surpassed 4 billion yuan (US$599 million) so far.
McClymont said that IMAX would spend more on local films through its China Film Fund that was set up in 2015.
