IMAX has announced that Warcraft, released by Legendary Pictures, set a new record for IMAX China opening weekend box office with a total of RMB131 million in 292 IMAX theatres across China. The opening weekend performance, which was driven by strong fan support and the Dragon Boat Holiday, beats the previous best-ever IMAX weekend of RMB106 million held by Avengers: Age of Ultron.
In addition, Warcraft reached the RMB100 million milestone at the IMAX China box office in four days, besting the previous record-holder Furious 7, which took 6 days to reach the same benchmark. The film also broke several other IMAX box office records in China including highest presale and midnight show, best-ever opening day (Wednesday gross of RMB39 million including midnight shows), best-ever single day (Thursday gross of RMB33million), and best Wednesday, Thursday and Friday grosses. Warcraft also became the first film to hit RMB20 million at the IMAX China box office for four consecutive days.
“We are thrilled to see how Warcraft has been embraced by Chinese moviegoers and really happy to see how strong the IMAX performance has been,” said Peter Loehr, CEO of Legendary East. “The film looks spectacular in the IMAX 3D format — it’s the kind of movie going experience that people go to the theatre for.”
“It’s been an incredible ride ever since Warcraft made its debut on IMAX screens, breaking a series of records, and being supported not only by fans of the original video game, but moviegoers across the board,” said Greg Foster, Senior Executive Vice President, IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment.
“Congratulations to our partners at Legendary Pictures on the success of this film. IMAX 3D has clearly become the preferred format to experience this film and we look forward to its continued success across our China network.”