Beijing, Feb 18 (AFP/APP): On a Friday night in one of Beijing’s central shopping districts, the popular Megabox cinema is shuttered and empty. Like entertainment venues across the capital, the eight-screen movie theatre has been closed for nearly a month in response to the coronavirus outbreak which has swept China, infecting more than 70,000 people. Glossy posters for this year’s blockbusters hang inside the closed entrance, while a sign outside says it was closed to “avoid spreading infections”. No reopening date was given. The government told hundreds of millions of people to stay home through the Lunar New Year holiday — a crucial period in China’s movie industry. Normally, blockbuster films are released and consumers pack cinemas — but this year, all was quiet. The closures could have a devastating impact on China’s film industry — and its target to overtake the US this year as the biggest box office in the world. With sales decimated in the first two months of the year, this now looks unlikely. “Based on 2019, the contribution from Chinese New Year was about 20 to 30 percent of the total box office,” said Wilson Chow, head of PwC’s global technology, media and entertainment and … Continue reading Coronavirus casts shadow on China’s big screens