13:38 PST 3/4/2021
in
Etan Vlessing
Exhibitors’ screens in Japan raised $ 26.8 million with ‘Demon Slayer’ and revenue for the October national holiday increased by 25% compared to 2019 in China.
Imax recorded lower revenues during its fourth quarter, compared to the 2019 pre-pandemic, but a box office resurgence in Asia helped the giant screen exhibitor offset a continued success in its North American cinemas with the COVID- crisis 19.
On Thursday, Imax reported a attributable loss to shareholders of $ 21.2 million, compared to a previous year’s profit of $ 18.2 million, and the adjusted loss per share was 21 cents, compared with a profit of 35 cents per share in 2019.
General quarterly revenue was $ 56 million, up from $ 124.3 million a year earlier. During the most recent quarter, Imax, although contained by delayed release of support and North American cinemas operating at reduced capacity, saw big gains with the resurgence of the Asian film industry.
Imax raised $ 26.8 million Demon slayer playing on their screens in Japan and had a strong vacation from Golden Week of National Day in China. “As the only globally successful entertainment platform in the world, we are encouraged to see that audiences are eager to return to movies where the virus is under control and they feel safe, and this promising trend is reflected in our consistent financial improvement since the beginning of the pandemic, “said Imax CEO Richard Gelfond in a statement.
The most recent results of Imax will be evaluated by North American exhibitors looking for a box office recovery in their own post-pandemic cinema circuits, either at the end of this year or in 2022, based on pent-up consumer demand.
Gelfond told analysts during a conference call after the market closed that the continued launch of the vaccine and a series of Hollywood tents set to reach the multiplex later this year and in 2022 bodes well for the exhibition industry. “We believe that the world will be very different in a few months. In view of this progress, we continue to see a lot of promise in the second half ”, he argued.
Gelfond was asked how the COVID-19 crisis could have a lasting impact on film viewing after the pandemic. “Consumer behavior is not going to change significantly,” he told analysts, while the Asian box office recovery highlighted how people returned to the multiplex when they felt it was safe to do so.
“When they can get out, they will get out,” said the head of Imax about moviegoers and other consumers when the pandemic road blocks disappear. Gelfond added that the concept of pent-up demand to go to the cinema was real.
“When you look at other territories that have opened up like China and Japan, it was not a switch, it was a tap, and you need to prepare the bomb along the way,” he told analysts. As the pandemic disappeared and Americans no longer felt the need to take shelter in their homes, Gelfond predicted a box office resurgence in North America as well.
“The United States is feeling safer very quickly and it will even speed up. We just have to be patient and be ready and plan our market strategy for this change and make sure that we will sequence the right films,” Gelfond insisted while looked for a continuous reopening of the national industry.
To support its balance sheet in the midst of the pandemic, Imax said it had sold its strategic stake in Maoyan, a major Chinese box office platform, for $ 17 million. Imax acquired the stake two years ago to partner with Maoyan and learn about marketing, advertising, distribution and digital remastering of its list of films.