In the wake of expansion news from China's Wanda cinema company, Thursday news showed that South Korea's CGV cinema-chain brand finished in the top-10 of the 2014 listing for China's top-earning movie theaters.
The Korean company, which presently runs 38 cinemas (300 screens) in major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Wuhan, made a considerable rise from the 17th place it secured in 2013.
The financial performance of CGV was highlighted by the Hollywood Reporter, which revealed a "stellar 51-percent growth rate" that represents the largest degree of improvement among the 250 or so multiplex firms that operate in the Chinese market.
CGV's attention-grabbing performance consisted of 1.5 million admissions over the course of last year.
The media has emphasized the significance of CGV's addition of 11 multiplex theaters (84 screens) throughout the country in 2014 in the context of the company's success. The new complexes built upon the 20 million yuan ($3.3 million) that 40 percent of CGV's 300 screens generate. CGV placed behind Chinese theater giants Wanda and Dadi Digital Cinema in terms of the magnitude of its business development last year.
Based on market-share data, CGV ranked in the 10th position for the first time in 2014, as 2 percent of China's annual box-office revenue, valued at $4.84 billion, was cornered by the relatively new Korean player.
CGV's future trajectory will be consistent with the last two years, as around 30 more theaters are anticipated in 2015, and it is expected that over 80 CGV cinemas will exist in China by 2016.