The pandemic makes China the world's top movie box office for the first time

A theater at AMC, America's leading movie chain, in New York.Evan Agostini / AP

Theaters in China this Sunday reached 1,988 million dollars (a little more than 1,698 million euros) so far this year, which exceeds the 1,933 million dollars (almost 1,641 million euros) of the US box office invoiced throughout 2020 and positions the Asian giant for the first time as the leader of the film market, according to

.

Although theaters in the country were closed for about six months due to the covid-19 pandemic, strict control by the Government of Beijing has allowed a gradual opening, with a current capacity of 75% of spectators, and launches such as the patriotic anthology

(

), which since its premiere on October 1 has accumulated 360 million dollars (around 305 million euros).

Many analysts have pointed out for years that China would sooner or later overtake the US as the dominator of the global box office.

What was not in the forecasts, obviously, is that the

would take place due to a global pandemic.

It is also estimated that the difference in income between theaters in both countries will increase by the end of the year.

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Among other reasons, producers and distributors in the United States remain in a state of alarm.

Long-awaited feature films such as

or

have been repeatedly postponed due to the concern that they do not raise enough to cover production costs or it has been decided to cut off physical distribution and launch through

platforms

, as was the case. Disney case with

and most recently

, which will be seen only on Disney +, starting December 25.

At the same time, major markets such as California and New York, which accounted for a fifth of the North American box office last year, remain with most of their cinemas closed, according to the NBC television channel.

Only two of the almost 300 existing cinemas in New York are open, but a few days ago the state government announced the return to activity of theaters, with a capacity of 25% and a maximum of 50 people.

Regal, which with 536 theaters is the second largest chain of cinemas in the United States, closed all its branches indefinitely on October 8.

AMC, the only franchise that surpasses Regal in the country, declared in a report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that, if the current pace continues, its financial resources "could be exhausted by the end of 2020 or early 2021."

Earlier this month, a letter signed by more than 70 film directors, including Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan, asked the United States Congress and Senate to provide financial assistance for theaters, stating that 69 % of small and medium rooms will be forced to close permanently if there is no immediate change.