The Shanghai Film Group announced Monday that it will set up a 1-billion-yuan ($144 million) fund to help aid the recovery of the virus-hit cinema industry in China's Yangtze River Delta, along with the Shanghai Film Co., Ltd. and the Shanghai Jingwen Investment Co., Ltd.

The Yangtze River Delta, home to about 2,500 movie theaters, is a major contributor to the Chinese box office. The first 200 million yuan of the fund has been allocated to invest in movie theaters that have been shuttered since the coronavirus outbreak, via means such as capital injections, equity participation and mergers and acquisitions.

The fund came after the Shanghai authorities announced a package of financial support and services on Feb 14 for cultural industries and companies that have been most affected by the outbreak.

China's film industry is still expected to see a positive outlook in the long term and the Shanghai Film Group should take on its due social responsibility to help those in need, said Wang Jian'er, chairman of the company.