At the end of April 2017, China had a world-leading 45,741 movie screens. The chart above shows the top ten Chinese cinema lines according to number of screens.
Underscoring the massive size of its exhibition industry, China’s top ten cinemas lines are among the top twenty global leaders of exhibition based on screen count.
Apart from Wanda (万达院线), China’s leading exhibitor in terms of box office revenue and owner of North America’s screen leader AMC Theaters, Dadi Theater Circuit (大地院线) is the Chinese exhibitor to keep a close eye on.
After Dadi’s acquisition of Orange Sky Golden Harvest in January 2017, the exhibitor leapfrogged China Digifilm Cinemas to become China’s market leader based on screen count, and Dadi’s CEO Yu Xin has expressed her company’s ambitions for global expansion in the future.
Dadi will continue to be a major market player as China’s vast exhibition industry begins to consolidate over the next three to five years.
Data Sources: 1905.com, EntGroup, BoxOffice.com Global Leaders of Exhibition 2017