Wanda cinemas gain big as China's movie industry booms

BEIJING - The cinema branch of property development titan Wanda Group reported stellar performance in 2014, boosted by China's rapidly growing movie sector.

Wanda Cinema Line Co raked in 5.3 billion yuan ($868 million) in operating revenue last year, up 32.7 percent from the previous year, according to its first financial report on Friday since it went public in January.

Net profits also increased by 32.7 percent to 803 million yuan.

Last year, Wanda's 182 cinemas, which feature 1,616 screens, welcomed 102 million moviegoers, earning 4.2 billion yuan in box office sales.

The report said Wanda cinemas had a 14.2 percent market share as of the end of 2014, the largest share among 48 theater chains nationwide.

China has grown into the world's second-largest movie market following North America, as people become more willing to spend on leisure and entertainment.

"Chinese people are developing a habit of watching movies in cinemas, propelling the fast development of theater chains," said Wanda's financial report.

However, competition in movie-related business will grow even fiercer, Wanda said. Its major rivals have yet to release reports on their financial performance.

Wanda also cautioned that a lack of blockbusters could overshadow cinema business as domestic movie production remains embryonic.