Live entertainment business SMG Live has teamed up with UK immersive cinema experience firm Secret Cinema to launch its first show in China, the world’s second biggest film market.
Through the partnership, the two companies will debut ‘Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale’ in Shanghai in November.
More than 120,000 tickets have already been shifted for the production’s London debut earlier this year. It sold around 1,500 tickets each night, making it the firm’s largest indoor show to date.
The production centres around the James Bond franchise and gives each ticket-holder an assigned character from the film. As they enter the event, they are supposed to take on their character’s persona and uncover secret storylines before watching a screening of the film.
Secret Cinema, which was launched in 2007, was founded as a means to boost interest in cinema through increased audience participation. The company has delivered more than 70 shows that combine music, art, theatre and dance, including adaptations of Dirty Dancing, Moulin Rouge, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Blade Runner.
SMG Live, part of the state-backed Shanghai Media Group, is set as the exclusive licensee in China.
“Expanding internationally is incredibly complicated even with a traditional theatre show, and Secret Cinema is a unique product with added complexities,” Max Alexander, the chief executive of Secret Cinema, said according to Variety.
“We can’t just hire a purpose-built venue. We need a venue that can house a production of this magnitude and then we have to build it.”
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