Wanda and Hoyts Cinema invited to attend opening ceremony of "New Zealand China Film Week"
25.05.2016
On May 24, the "New Zealand China Film Week" was held in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Liu Qibao, head of China’s Publicity Department, who was on a state visit to New Zealand at the time attended the opening ceremony. Wanda Group and Wanda's Australian cinema company, Hoyts, were also invited to attend.
At the opening ceremony, leaders from the national film bureau thanked Wanda Hoyts for the firm support the company had offered to the film week's activities, and highly commended the Wanda Film Holdings' films at the Film Week.
Hoyts has 52 cinemas in Australia and New Zealand with 424 screens. To date, the aggregate box office takings of Hoyts have risen by 4% in 2016, while market share has increased from less than 20% to 20.1%.
Hoyts employs 2,755 employees in its cinema department. It also has an advertising department under its stable. It is engaged in cinema advertising services in most of the cinemas in Australia. In addition, the company owns 3,331 screens in shopping centers and petrol stations. Hoyts employs 126 employees in its advertising department.
The company provides service fo 1.97 million customers. Hoyts has established its own large screen brand - Xtremescreen. Currently, Hoyts has 34 xtremescreens under its stable, as well as three IMAX screens. Hoyts is Australia's sole cinema line that has introduced remodeled IMAX screens into its existing cinemas.
The company has also established its own luxurious high-end cinema brand - LUX. At the 40 LUX theaters, customers may enjoy a wide variety of dining options of similar quality to restaurants.
After Wanda acquired Hoyts, the latter began to renovate and upgrade its cinemas. All theaters in its cinemas are now installed with recliner seats. As of end-2016, renovation had been completed at 35% of Hoyts cinemas.
Although Chinese films account for a tiny share in the Australian film market, there is a visible growth trend. After Wanda's acquisition of Hoyts, the latter had attempted to screen more Chinese movies; the Mandarin version of "Kungfu Panda" was screened recently.