The Peace Cinema, located on Zangxi Road in the HP District of Shanghai, is the first commercially operated IMAX cinema in Shanghai and even in the mainland.
The cinema has two giant IMAX screens, with all equipment imported from Canada.
Each screen is 15 meters high and 20 meters wide, using 70mm 15-perforation film, delivering extremely high image clarity, and is paired with 12,000-watt stereo sound systems, creating a powerful audiovisual impact.
However, these two IMAX halls usually only screen documentaries and the like, because there are not many true IMAX films.
That said, when Batman Begins was released in the mainland in 2005, it still allowed many people to experience the superb viewing effect of IMAX.
This time, The Dark Knight was released simultaneously in the mainland and North America, and the Peace Cinema had already put up advertisements early, promoting the IMAX experience.
Two days before the film's release, 85 percent of the tickets for the midnight screening and the first week had already been sold. Less than two hours before the midnight screening, all tickets for the entire week were completely sold out.
Because of the time difference, midnight in Shanghai was exactly the morning hours in North America, so mainland audiences were able to watch The Dark Knight earlier than North American viewers.
Liu Xiaojun had already become a loyal fan of Gilbert starting from The Lord of the Rings series. When he was in college, he went to the cinema to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and from then on he remembered the name Gilbert.
He did not miss a single one of the later films such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The False, and I Am Legend, and through these movies he even met his girlfriend, Zheng Xiaowen.
The release date of The Dark Knight happened to fall during the May Day holiday. As working-class people, the two of them clearly did not have extra money to travel.
So the couple decided to come to the cinema to watch a movie, and they booked tickets for the IMAX midnight screening of The Dark Knight a week in advance.
"I heard people say that this movie is only truly enjoyable if you watch it in an IMAX theater," Zheng Xiaowen said excitedly.
"Yeah," Liu Xiaojun was also looking forward to it. "Back when Batman Begins came out, I watched it in an IMAX theater."
"How was the effect?"
"Of course it was great. Even though the ticket price was higher than a regular theater, I thought it was totally worth it."
"I feel the same way."
It wasn't just the two of them who were excited. Most people who chose the IMAX theater were those who had previously seen Batman Begins, along with some who were influenced by the promotional campaign.
Soon it was time to enter the theater, and Liu Xiaojun and Zheng Xiaowen lined up and walked into IMAX Hall No. 1.
In the mainland market, where moviegoing habits had not yet been fully cultivated, most people only went to the cinema a few times a year. Therefore, choosing a film was very important, because unlike TV dramas, movies were not something you could watch anytime you wanted.
As a result, big-name directors combined with stars who had strong appeal were a guarantee of box office success, and audiences naturally trusted them.
In addition, Hollywood films, because of their high production quality, could easily conquer the Chinese market.
Gilbert just happened to be a major director, and the Hollywood films he directed were extremely, extremely popular.
Liu Xiaojun looked around and said to Zheng Xiaowen, "It seems there are quite a lot of people. I don't see any empty seats at all."
Zheng Xiaowen wasn't surprised at all. "That's normal. Director Gilbert is the Hollywood director we're most familiar with. What's more, after all the things that happened this year, he even spoke up for us.
I think many fans are also using this method to repay him."
Indeed, Gilbert's appeal in the Chinese market was extremely strong, even stronger than that of top-tier Hollywood stars.
This point left even Hollywood insiders feeling quite incredulous. Why was Gilbert's appeal higher than that of Tom Cruise?
But the fact was exactly that. If you asked who the most beloved Chinese-language film director was among Chinese audiences, people might not be able to give a clear answer and would argue about it.
But if you asked who their favorite foreign director was, most people would choose Gilbert.
Before the release of The Dark Knight, Forbes released the China Celebrity List. Gilbert ranked tenth on the list, surpassing Uncle Benshan.
There was no need to be surprised that a foreigner made the list. After all, even Jet Li and Liu Yifei could be on it, so there were no restrictions.
This proved one thing: although Gilbert was far away in Hollywood, his influence crossed the Pacific Ocean and gained tremendous popularity in China.
So there was no need to explain why his films were so popular in China—he was always a winner.
Liu Xiaojun and Zheng Xiaowen's IMAX viewing experience this time was extremely satisfying. The use of IMAX technology in The Dark Knight was even more shocking than in the previous installment.
However, what attracted them was not only the stunning IMAX effects, but more importantly, the story of The Dark Knight itself.
Back in their rented apartment, although they were a bit tired, they still enthusiastically discussed the film.
"I've never seen a superhero movie like this before. I've watched Spider-Man before, and last year's Iron Man too.
But I dare say these two superhero movies are completely inferior to The Dark Knight," Liu Xiaojun said with confidence.
Zheng Xiaowen agreed. "That's true. I thought this movie would be like other Hollywood commercial blockbusters, mainly focused on being fast-pace and entertaining.
But I didn't expect that it was thrilling, yet in a completely different way.
The themes are heavy and profound, bringing up questions that are worth thinking about and discussing.
As expected of Gilbert, a major Hollywood director."
Liu Xiaojun laughed. "My favorite parts were the Batmobile and the Batpod."
Zheng Xiaowen rolled her eyes at him. "Stop dreaming. We can't afford those. But…"
"But what?"
"The models are still affordable."
"Really? Thank you, my dear wife."
Liu Xiaojun beamed with joy. He liked buying movie merchandise. If he really couldn't afford the real thing, buying a replica was fine too.
In fact, at Shanghai Global Harbor, there was a Batmobile specially shipped from North America, along with two Batpods. These were the real deals, placed at Global Harbor as part of the film's promotional campaign.
Because of their cool and flashy designs, they attracted a huge number of visitors to stop, admire, and take photos.
A wealthy second-generation heir took a liking to the Batmobile and the Batpods and wanted to buy them for his collection. After a round of enthusiastic negotiations, he bought the entire set for 9.35 million RMB, just waiting for the exhibition to end so they could be transported back to the garage at his home.
The news traveled across the Pacific to Los Angeles. After returning to Los Angeles from Chicago, Gilbert took the main creative team to record The Ellen Show.
In the afternoon, he returned to the studio to prepare for the final work before the North American release.
Gilbert specifically instructed that if there were any developments in the Asian box office, they should be reported to him immediately. As a result, he saw the Asian box office figures at the first opportunity.
The box office in the island nation was just so-so. Superhero movies were not very popular there, so even though several of Gilbert's women from the island nation promoted it vigorously, the midnight screenings only brought in 3.27 million dollars.
South Korea did fairly well. Although the market was small, it still contributed 1.22 million dollars in midnight box office revenue.
The remaining regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and several Southeast Asian areas, together generated 2.25 million dollars in midnight box office revenue.
However, the mainland Chinese market surprised Gilbert a bit. The midnight screenings actually took in 3.35 million dollars, which converted to over 22 million RMB—an exceptionally high midnight box office figure.
The mainland Chinese market had been in a phase of continuous growth in recent years, with its overall capacity constantly expanding, but the number of midnight screening audiences was actually not very large.
Being able to achieve this level of midnight box office revenue proved Gilbert's drawing power there.
One set of data came from IMAX Corporation. There were a total of five IMAX cinemas in mainland China, and all of them achieved a 100 percent occupancy rate for the midnight screenings.
IMAX Corporation was not only expanding the North American market but also actively developing other global markets, with the Chinese market being a top priority.
According to IMAX, a cinema chain company there had seen the outstanding performance of IMAX theaters and planned to become the exclusive agent for IMAX cinemas in mainland China.
Of course, at present, the two sides were still in contact.
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