The company previously met its goal to open 16 new cinemas in 2013.

Major South Korean exhibitor CJ CGV has announced it plans to open 19 more cinemas in China this year with an aim to more than double its annual sales to $159.9m (KW170bn).

The company met its previously announced goal to open 16 new cinemas in 2013 and did $75.2m (KW80bn) in sales last year.

An affiliate of leading Korean investor/distributor CJ E&M, CJ CGV was the first of Korea’s exhibitors to open a multiplex in China in 2006. It now has a total of 27 cinemas with 210 screens in 16 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Wuhan, Tianjin, Shenyang, Harbin, and Chengdu.

The company today said it went from 0.9% market share in 2009 to 2.1% by November 2013, ranking 14th in 223 multiplex chains in China and plans to strengthen its strategic global positioning in mainland China to expand to holding 46 cinemas with 354 screens in 2014.

The exhibitor has been putting forward special screens such as 4DX and IMAX in China, where film piracy has been notoriously prevalent.

Earlier this month, the country’s State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television announced box office increased by 27% last year to $3.6bn (RMB21.8bn).