A cinema in Seoul that decorated with videos and photos celebrating Jung Hoseok's birthday Photo: Courtesy of Baidu_jhopebar

Since the beginning of 2020, a total of 5,328 film and TV companies canceled their commercial registrations or have had their licenses revoked in China - 1.78 times 2019's total, media reports revealed. 

Most cinemas in China have been empty for more than two months and people working in the industry are not sure when viewers will return. 

Though the coronavirus has begun to recede within China, most are still worried about visiting indoor public places for entertainment. 

A receptionist at Xinjiekou International IMAX cinema in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, told the Global Times the cinema has been closed since the Spring Festival, and it is not sure when it will be allowed to resume operations. 

According to Chinese business data provider Tianyancha, about 470,000 enterprises remain in the film and TV industry. In the first two months of the year, the number of newly established cinema enterprises was less than 8,000, dropping 25 percent year-on-year. 

Earnings predictions by leading enterprises show the industry's weak confidence. 

Wanda Film predicted losses of 550 million yuan ($78 million) to 650 million yuan in the first quarter. Jy Cinema predicted losses between 145 million yuan and 160 million yuan. 

However, filmmakers are working to continue producing films. 

Leading film producer H.Brothers told the Global Times on Wednesday its online entertainment consumption saw outstanding growth during the coronavirus outbreak in China. 

For instance, box office revenue for an online drama produced by H.Brothers reached 100 million yuan, a record high.

Currently, 24 crews are filming at the Hengdian Film and Television Base in East China's Zhejiang Province, one of China's major filming bases, and more than 40 crews are preparing to film, a spokesperson of the base told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Last year, more than 300 crews filmed at the base and that number may drop by 10 percent this year due to the coronavirus. 

On March 23, more than 500 cinemas across China resumed operations with a resumption rate of 4.64 percent, Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan said. In the following week, the box office figures were only 209,000 yuan across 9,649 viewers. 

In the week before March 23, average viewership in cinemas which had resumed services was just one.

Compared with other industries which have resumed operations, the film sector has witnessed relatively low revenues. 

On April 8, Chinese authorities advised indoor recreation sites not to resume operations in areas with risks of virus outbreaks. 

In order to survive, nearly 400 cinemas cooperated with online payment platform Alipay to pre-sell film tickets at a 70 percent discount. 

Consumers can use the discounted tickets to watch films that will be released after the virus is eliminated.