One of China’s leading film companies has announced it is partnering with state broadcaster CCTV to offer live broadcasts of the 2024 Paris Olympics at cinemas across the country.

The project will bring the Olympics to the big screen for the first time in China, and has already generated a big reaction on social media. But whether fans actually buy tickets for the screenings is another matter.

China Film Co., Ltd. and CCTV unveiled the deal on July 13, and on Monday the two sides released more details about the planned screenings. They plan to show the opening ceremony and a range of events popular among Chinese sports fans — including table tennis, badminton, diving, and volleyball — at hundreds of cinemas nationwide.

“It is a cross-border integration of the Chinese film industry with international sports events, marking an important step for China Film in expanding to new cultural boundaries and promoting the development of culture and sports,” said Fu Ruoqing, chairman and general manager of China Film.

Tickets for screenings of the Olympics opening ceremony, which takes place on Friday evening local time in Paris, are now available at cinemas in more than 10 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Twenty cinemas in Shanghai will show the opening ceremony, with ticket prices ranging from 34.9 yuan to 75 yuan ($4.8 to $10.30). But demand doesn’t appear to be high, as most events are set to start after midnight in China.

As of Wednesday, only two of the cinemas had received enough bookings to go ahead with the screenings. In China, cinemas occasionally cancel screenings unless a certain number of tickets are sold, with the threshold ranging from 10 to 100 depending on the size of the theater.

In the northern city of Tianjin, meanwhile, only four cinemas plan to show the opening ceremony, and so far they have only sold six tickets for the screenings between them. Unless they receive more bookings, none of the screenings will take place.

The Olympics screenings have become a popular topic on Chinese social media, with a related hashtag receiving millions of views on microblogging platform Weibo. But public reactions to the idea of sports at the cinema have been mixed.

One survey of 15,000 people found that two-thirds of respondents consider it “suitable” to watch the Olympics at the cinema. But in another survey by state media outlet China Daily, 70% of respondents said they wouldn’t go to the cinema to watch a live screening.

Many appear to be worried about how sports fans will behave at the cinema. “Better to watch it at home; I’m afraid that the cinema might be even more ‘lively’ than the game itself. What if people suddenly start fighting?” read one highly upvoted comment on Weibo.

Cinema staff have sought to reassure viewers that screenings will not be filled with drunken fans.

“Some people like to drink beer and eat barbecue while watching sports, and they also like to discuss it loudly, but this behavior is not encouraged in cinemas,” Shen Yan, a manager of a cinema in the southern city of Guangzhou, told domestic media. “On one hand, it is for safety considerations to avoid anyone causing trouble while drunk; and on the other hand, it is to create a good viewing environment and avoid affecting other viewers.”

The Heshenghui branch of China Film Cinema in Shanghai has sold 33 tickets for the opening ceremony as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, meaning that the screening will definitely go ahead. A staff member from the cinema told Sixth Tone that they were unsure whether screenings of other Olympics events would be arranged, as it would depend on attendance rates and what instructions they receive.

Events like basketball and football, which have a passionate following in China, are unlikely to be screened, the person said. “We previously considered showing the UEFA European Championship final. But given the safety risks — the theater doesn’t have security staff or separate seating for fans like a stadium does — we canceled the activities.”

However, some viewers appear to be excited about the prospect of watching live sports on the big screen.

The cinemas that Shen manages have previously screened e-sports events, such as professional “League of Legends” matches, which have been a success. “Most people come to the cinema to watch the game for the viewing experience and atmosphere,” she said. “Viewing it on the big screen is much better than watching it at home, and you can also enjoy the lively atmosphere with everyone.”

The manager of the Peace Cinema in Shanghai told Sixth Tone that staff expected the Olympics screenings to be popular due to the lively atmosphere and big screens. The image quality is “very, very clear,” the person said.

For cinemas, the hope is that screening live sports can help offset the poor performance of the film market this year. During the Dragon Boat festival in June, Chinese cinemas held a record 1.39 million screenings. But total box office revenues only reached 383 million yuan, down more than 50% year over year.

Additional reporting: Zhu Yingcui.

(Header image: VCG)