IMAX Corp. (IMAX) has recently announced three major movie releases in China, namely, Jackie Chan’s action-adventure 3D flick Dragon Blade, and John Woo's 3D film The Crossing in two parts.

Dragon Blade is slated to release in Feb 19, 2015. Meanwhile, the first part of The Crossing is scheduled for a Dec 2 release and the other part will hit the cinemas in May 2015.

The films will be showcased on IMAX’s DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology which offers enhanced sound quality, high definition video and complete theatre experience to the audience.

Lately, the Chinese market has been generating significant revenues for IMAX. Blockbuster flicks, Godzilla and Transformer: Age of Extinction garnered record revenues in China. Also, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar marked a strong debut in the country.

In a bid to boost its Chinese presence, IMAX struck a deal with the nation’s leading movie distributor -- Bona Film Group Ltd. (BONA-owned Bona International Cineplex Investment and Management Co. Ltd.) – to launch three more IMAX theaters in the country.

Earlier, the company had entered into a multi-picture agreement with The Walt Disney Company (DIS) and also received strategic investments in its Chinese venture. We believe that these developments will significantly benefit the company over the long term.

In the recently concluded third quarter of 2014, IMAX reported strong financial results wherein both the top and the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. During the reported quarter, IMAX installed 14 new theaters against 13 in the prior-year quarter.

Major overseas expansion coupled with strong presence in China will help IMAX maintain such a strong performance in the forthcoming quarters as well.

IMAX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the broader media and broadcasting industry is Time Warner Inc. (TWX) with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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