(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- Imax China Holding’s earnings came back into the black last year after box office takings soared 140 percent thanks to most of its theaters in the Chinese mainland reopening and blockbuster movies such as The Battle at Lake Changjin and Detective Chinatown 3.

Net profit was USD38.2 million in the year ended Dec. 31, versus a net loss of USD26.7 million in 2020, according to the earnings report the Chinese arm of Canada’s Imax Technology Network released yesterday. The figure was close to the pre-pandemic level of 2019, while revenue soared 116 percent to USD112.8 million.

The company’s box office takings jumped to USD239.5 million buoyed also by the release of big Hollywood films such as Dune and No Time to Die over the Chinese New Year and National Day holidays. Lake Changjin became China’s highest-grossing movie of all-time, raking in CNY5.7 billion (USD892.2 million).

Since Avatar’s huge success at Chinese Imax cinemas 12 years ago, the company has speeded up its expansion across the country, becoming China’s largest premium entertainment network, it said. Imax China has almost 1,000 theaters.

Imax’s revenue share from Chinese language movies almost doubled to 60.1 percent in 2021 from 31.4 percent in 2019, Imax China noted. While Hollywood movies remain an important part of the programing schedule, Chinese consumers' attention to the Imax brand and experience with blockbusters has gone beyond Hollywood to Chinese language films, it added.

Editor: Futura Costaglione