Within the past few years, IMAX movie-going has grown exponentially. Since the dawn of the film reel itself, moviemakers have been looking for any way they can push the boundaries of what’s possible, and the most recent of these is the advent of IMAX. Films are now being shot in IMAX, made for those premium theaters. The most noteworthy of these would be the Russo Bother’s Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, along with almost every movie from Christopher Nolan. And if there’s one thing that plays as big a part in a film’s gross as the format, it’s the Chinese market.

The chief executive of IMAX, Rich Gelfond, has said he hasn’t seen movies being brought to the Chinese market as quickly as they have this year, Deadline reports. Many big-ticket blockbusters have been cleared for a China release, including The Little Mermaid, The Flash, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning. However, that one isn’t concrete yet, Gelfond said they would drag their feet in the past and approve of films last minute, but now they have a new deck of cards to play. The world felt the COVID-19 pandemic, but China is still recovering. Undoubtedly, China is looking towards jump-starting the economy again, and with the success of the Fast X opening in China, it’s likely headed in that direction.

On top of that, a Canadian tech company, Ssimwave, has been picked up by IMAX and could lead to easier streaming for premium formatted films. It helps with image compression, which helps with putting the content through the metaphorical pipes, which can cut back the physical price of streaming by a whole fifth, and is compatible with IMAX technology, which will be able to send the content to the television using the service.