By May 16, the Hollywood tentpole IRON MAN 3’s total earnings have accumulated over 620 million yuan, according to Entgroup China Box Office Tracker. Among them, IMAX ticket sales contributed 58 million, accounting for 9.4% of the total box office gross. The popularity of IMAX may drive the revenue increase of IMAX Corporation in Q2 and reverse its downturn situation in Q1. As the fastest-growing IMAX market in the world, China will further contribute to the revenue growth of IMAX Corporation.
IRON MAN 3’s IMAX box office performance went through three main phases. Marked by its opening on May 1, the first-day IMAX box office reached a record 10.57 million yuan ($1.72 million), 18% of IMAX’s total receipts on this film. The following days witnessed a decline with fluctuations; even the sales on May 4 (first weekend) failed to match its stunning first-day performance. In total, the first five days accounted for 2/3 of its overall box office as of May 16.
The second phase began May 6, when the box office started plummeting significantly, with daily revenue shrinking about 1/3 to 1/2 compared to the first week.SO YOUNG remained the strongest competitor to IRON MAN 3 during the first two phases, the latter championed by a narrow margin in screenings and an average 27% higher ticket price.
The third phase started with the release of AMERICAN DREAMS IN CHINA, whose 31% occupation of the total screening capacity indicates that IRON MAN 3 may only be able to gather 1/5 of its first-weekend box office revenue. Its off-screen date is not far away.
It is interesting to compare their audiences based on our box office data collected from cities of different types, as SO YOUNG and IRON MAN 3 have been competing neck and neck during these weeks.
The audience percentage for IRON MAN 3 surpassed SO YOUNG by 4 percent point in the first-tier cities, while lagging behind 4 percent point in the forth-tier cities. As shown below, this high and low contrast reveals that imported films such as IRON MAN 3 have larger audience bases in first-tier cities, yet domestic productions like SO YOUNG appeal to more diversified moviegoers with wider audience distribution. A comparison of different theater chains’ performances also reveals that Wanda has a higher dependency on imported films due to the concentration of its theaters in first- and second-tier cities.
