With the closure of cinemas and entertainment venues due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the film and entertainment industry has been one of the most hard-hit financially. Those financial losses aren’t restricted to America either, as IMAX China has warned of losses in the tens of millions.
Variety reports that the IMAX subsidiary IMAX China has already given advance warning that its losses for the first half of 2020 would be anywhere between $34 million and $36 million. The figure is a steep decline from the $24 million profit that IMAX China made in the same period last year.
Of course, the reason for the steep drop is mainly due to the nationwide closures brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic. According to the company, there are about 700 IMAX cinemas in Mainland China, all of which have not been able to operate since the start of the coronavirus-induced theater closures.
IMAX China’s gloomy announcement comes on the heels of Wanda Film’s announcement that it would be posting a loss anywhere between $214 and $228 million, also as a result of the theater closures brought about by the global coronavirus pandemic. Wanda Film is China’s biggest cinema chain operator and all 600 of its cinemas have been closed for half of the year.
Beyond China, it is still gloom that awaits the global film industry. According to the World Bank, the closure of big film markets like South Korea and Japan will likely result in a $5 billion loss for the global film industry.
Even then, there is still some good news for the Chinese film industry as the Chinese government has allowed movie theaters in low-risk areas to reopen last July 20. The road to movie theater reopenings has been a bumpy one for China, with an initial reopening date set for March, before being moved to May 8 and then June 11.
Forbes also believes that the lower number of coronavirus cases in China will help IMAX China’s revenues swing back up. The publication also took note of the expanded partnership between IMAX China and Wanda Film. Wanda Film recently upgraded 20 of its theaters with IMAX technology.
Whether the same reversal could happen for other film industries still remains to be seen as the global coronavirus pandemic has not slowed down anywhere else in the world. According to the World Health Organization’s situation report for July 22, there are now 14.765,256 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. The number of people who have died from COVID-19 is now at 612,054.