The coronavirus has been tearing through the world for months now. And we all now how badly China has been ravaged by the outbreak of COVID-19. However, things are beginning to look up as no new cases have been reported and they look to begin reopening restaurants, malls, and movie theaters. Still, it's a wait and see game as they're not 100 percent sure quite yet. As they begin to reboot their country and economy, theaters will slowly and surely be opened again. Apparently, some small independent, non-corporate owned theaters have already begun to open their doors to the public after the massive health crisis. 17 theaters in Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Fujian are now fully opened.
The biggest problem they're having is that most big name titles have been pulled by the studios until this is resolved. In the meantime, older films might get a re-release. And it looks like one of the first ones they may get is a 4K remaster of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Warner Bros. has been promoting the updated version of the Potter film via Chinese social media. While no official release date has been announced, it seems as though they're gearing up to give the public some Harry Potter to tide them over through the rough patch.
The China Film Bureau is also working hand in hand with distributors to get several other past releases back into cinemas to assist in driving the entertainment economy. They're going to allow the theaters to keep 100 percent of profits to assist them in bringing some income back into their businesses.
-CG