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IMAX China Records RMB 28.3 Million Opening for Suzume

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IMAX (IMAX - Free Report) China collected a record RMB 28.3 million at the box office for the weekend. Toho’s animation film Suzume, directed by Makoto Shikai, has recorded the biggest opening in China for a Japanese animation movie as well as a non-Hollywood foreign film.

IMAX China experienced a record Chinese new year and the stellar success of Avatar: The Way of Water. The company collected a record RMB 672 million box office in mainland China. It already collected the second highest first-quarter box office in history which indicates a 107% rise compared with the same period last year.

About 8.3% of Suzume’s weekend gross was delivered by IMAX. This is the best index for any Japanese animation film, with only 1% of overall screens. 9 out of 10 top locations were IMAX, over the weekend.

After Suzume’s success, IMAX has a strong line of releases slated which includes Dungeons & Dragons, To Be Continued, The Super Mario Bros Movie, The First Slam Dunk, Born To Fly which are going to release across China. A remastered version of Titanic is also set to release in China on Apr 3.

Imax Expands Footprint in China with Laser Projection Technology

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is looking to expand its footprints in China using its popular Laser Projection Technology. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Shares of IMAX have lost 8.2% in the past year compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s decline of 22.7%.

IMAX reported fourth-quarter 2022 profit of 19 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.67%. Revenues decreased 9.7% year over year to $98 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.16%.

With growing popularity and demand, Laser Projection Markets are set to be captured by giants like  Sony (SONY - Free Report) , Panasonic and Seiko Epson (SEKEY - Free Report) .

According to a Digital Journal report, Laser Projection Technology is likely to gain popularity with key players till 2032. Seiko Epson is a leading electronics company in Japan. It is looking to redefine viewership at home with its Epson MicroLaser Array Technology.

Panasonic, being a pioneer in the electronics market, is looking to maintain its position by integrating laser technology in its products.

Sony, being one of the key players in the Global Laser Projection Market, has partnered with IMAX for the extension of the IMAX Enhanced ecosystem with SPE’s commitment to release hundreds of new titles in the IMAX format.

China being IMAX’s second largest revenue generator, has already received their latest Laser Technology enabled cinemas. With growing demand and popularity for the Laser Systems, the management has used a zone approach. They have already identified 1400 zones for expansion. This aligns the demand and vision for IMAX in China.


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