Newly launched service welcomes 800 Chinese theater owners to its annual convention.

The second annual MCon, the film merchandising convention hosted by the Chinese movie portal and e-commerce destination MTime, took place in the Hainan province of China, Friday and Saturday.

The convention, which gathered 800 of China’s top theater owners and general managers, focused on new merchandise from some of the most anticipated films of 2016, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kung Fu Panda 3 and Warcraft, according to Steven Ekstract, publisher, License! Global.

Keynote speakers included Walt Disney international chairman Andy Bird and DreamWorks Animation chief executive officer Jeffrey Katzenberg.

In addition to the keynote addresses, the convention also included a number of sessions covering various aspects of the movie merchandising industry in China with topics including the history and evolution of movie merchandising, movie merchandising design, localizing movie merchandise and the 2016 market outlook for the merchandise business.

According to MTime, the film market in China is the fastest growing in the world, with this year showing the potential to maintain 30 percent or more growth year-over-year for the past five years. Industry estimates project that China will become the world’s largest box office market in the next three years.

“Movie merchandising has truly evolved from the days of key chains and postcards into a true lifestyle industry,” says Kelvin Hou, founder and chief executive officer, MTime. “Along with the support of over 800 theater owners, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to show the movie industry across the globe China’s unlimited growth potential in the merchandising business.”

The MCon event previewed products both from MTime and other international licensees, all of which were available for order and pre-order onsite via the newly launched MTime Pro application.

Launched this past January, MTime Pro has established 55 brick-and-mortar stores in 10 major box office cities. The service serves three functions: to allow theater owners and general managers to review and buy upcoming movie merchandise; to provide nationwide, same-day box office analyses, screen allocation information and competitive comparisons; and to offer movie trade news.

“What MTime has done by gathering so many of my colleagues in the theater business together along with the best-in-the-business merchandise in one place is nothing short of amazing," says Su Ming, general manager, Jinyi theater chain, the second largest chain in China. "We cannot deny the power of movie merchandise and this summit is a prime example of MTime’s continued innovation and contribution to the film business.”