(Yicai Global) Dec. 8 -- As China continues to ease Covid-19 control measures, more than half of the country’s movie theaters have reopened their doors, and over CNY10 million (USD1.43 million) of tickets for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ have already been sold ahead of its Dec. 16 release date.

Some 6,554 cinemas, or 52.7 percent of the total, were open as of Dec. 7, data from ticketing platform Maoyan showed. Box office takings stood at around CNY69 million (USD9.9 million) for the weekend of Dec. 3 and more than CNY10 million for Dec. 5, according to figures from Maoyan and rival Beacon.

China has more than 10,000 operational cinemas in February, which dropped to 5,200 in April due to the pandemic. The ranks of open movie theaters began to increase in June.

Tickets for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ are the fastest-selling for an overseas movie before it is released since 2020, said Chen Jin, a data analyst at Beacon Pro.

The average price of a ticket to see the film is CNY76.90 (USD11), with about 60 percent costing between CNY30 and CNY50 for standard screenings, Chen added. Nearly 40 percent are for IMAX cinemas because of the movie’s special effects and the theaters’ high-resolution projections.

Several other major films are scheduled for released in Chinese cinemas this month, including Japanese animation ‘One Piece Film: Red,’ which started screenings on Dec. 1, and Chinese movies ‘Welcome to the Game’ and ‘Convertible Me,’ both of which are coming soon.

With cities gradually easing pandemic control measures, the share prices of movie and cinema companies have climbed.

Wanda Film Holding [SHE: 002739], China's biggest cinema chain, closed 3.9 percent higher today at CNY14.85 (USD2.13) a share, bringing its gain to 25 percent since Nov. 28. Cinema operator Omnijoi Media [SHE: 300528] ended up 0.8 percent at CNY8.70. It has added 30 percent since the beginning of last week.

Movie producer Beijing Enlight Media [SHE: 300251] closed up 1.4 percent at CNY8.64 today. Its stock price has increased almost 17 percent since Nov. 28, while film distributor Bona Film Group [SHE: 001330] has climbed over 26 percent in the past two weeks, after rising 4.6 percent to CNY12.50 today.

The sector is expected to bounce back as China continues to optimize its Covid-19 prevention and control policies, Ma Xiao, a Topsperity Securities analyst, said in a recent report. But the recovery is still slow, as cinemas are indoor venues, so they need to operate at half capacity when open.

Editor: Martin Kadiev