Warner Brothers International Cinemas announced in Shanghai Friday that it will open its first digital theater on the Chinese mainland in 2006, National Business Daily reports. It also said that it would expand its Chinese theater operations by six locations annually beginning next year. Warner Brothers International Cinemas vice president of operations John Green, Jr., said that the company's digital cinema in Beijing is awaiting approval; following its completion, further expansion will bring Warner Brothers theaters to other areas of the country. In seven Chinese cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Wuhan, and Nanjing - a foreign party may own up to a 75% share in a theater joint venture. WBIC is the largest multiplex operator in China; the company intends to have 170 screens on the Chinese mainland by the end of 2007. Its current eight locations saw revenues up 81% to 107 million yuan (US$13.2 million) in the previous year; box-office receipts are projected to hit 121 million yuan (US$14.9 million) in 2005. Link: http://www.nbd.com.cn/admin/module/news/newsFile/200512260143.htm