Bringing World Cup action to the silver screen has proved to be good business for the Shanghai Film Art Center.
The venue is showing selected matches from the tournament in Germany and took in more than 12,000 yuan (US$1,500) in ticket sales from its first screening of England's group match against Paraguay on June the 10th.
At the first screening, the hall that can hold about 300 people was 90 percent full.
Center officials said customers are mostly young soccer fans looking for a different experience from watching the matches at home or in pubs.
The center uses a digital projector to broadcast CCTV 5 or SMG's sports channel coverage onto one of its 40-square-meter screens.
Ahead of the live broadcasts of the games, the center plays Chinese soccer movies A Soccer Fan's Obsession and I Also Have A Father, as well as Hollywood hits such as Poseidon and Ice Age 2.
(CRI June 24, 2006)
