Aftershock, the Chinese-language film co-produced by Imax Corp. and the Chinese film studio Huayi Brothers Media, will open simultaneously on U.S. and Canadian screens on October 29.

In a deal between exhibition giant AMC Entertainment and Asian distributor China Lion Film, the Chinese-made Imax earthquake thriller will unspool in 23 North American markets, including on AMC screens in Toronto and Ottawa.

The opening is part of a wider distribution pact between China Lion and AMC to release as many as 15 Chinese-made films annually on AMC screens, including those in Toronto and Ottawa.

Imax has separate plans to release Aftershock, which portrays a family battling back from the devastation of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, on its super-sized large format screens.

AMC has been releasing Bollywood movies on its Canadian screens in major urban markets, including Toronto, and has now branched out into Chinese language films.

Aftershock, which recently opened wide on theatrical release in China and set an all-time domestic box office record at $100 million, is the first of three movies that Imax will co-produce and distribute with Huayi Brothers Media.

Aftershock was also among a slew of Chinese-made films to screen recently on the Canadian film festival circuit, including in Toronto and Vancouver, and which distributors are attempting to find a wider domestic audience at the local multiplex.