Senior executives at the company have confirmed that Friday January 31 set the biggest single day’s box office for IMAX screens in China.

The first day of Chinese New Year generated $1.8m across 140 screens driven by international smash The Monkey King. Over the three-day weekend The Monkey King generated $4.5m on IMAX.

The previous record holder was Marvel’s Iron Man 3 on $1.5m in 2013.

“We’d like to congratulate our partners, Filmko Pictures and China Film Group, on making such a spectacular, action-fuelled film that resonates so well with IMAX audiences,” said IMAX Entertainment CEO and IMAX Corp senior evp Greg Foster.

The Monkey King is a great example of the kind of performance that can happen when the right film is presented in The IMAX Experience, and we look forward to seeing how the rest of the holiday week unfolds.”