Why Movie Theater Reopenings Overseas Show ‘Early Signs of Progress’ for the Industry

”Business in the U.K. seems to be picking up — looking at increasing location counts, as opposed to gross — since the market reopened,“ Boxoffice Pro editor Daniel Loria said

Hollywood has resigned itself to forgo releasing new movies in theaters (for now), instead rolling out shelved wares overseas in markets where the novel coronavirus pandemic is more under control.

One sign of promising demand came Tuesday from Imax, which pulls roughly 70% of its overall revenue from outside of the U.S. The large-format theater exhibitor has reopened 624 of its theaters globally, or approximately 40% of its network, including 409 theaters in China over the July 24 weekend, CEO Rich Gelfond said Tuesday.

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Trey Williams

Film Reporter covering the biz • trey.williams@thewrap.com • Twitter: @trey3williams