IMAX Corporation announced an agreement with Shanghai Film Corporation (SFC) and its subsidiary, Shanghai United Circuit Co. Ltd. (SUC), for five additional IMAX theatres in China. Four of the theatres will be located in existing multiplexes in Hangzhou, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Chengdu, with another to be added to a new development in Changzhou. Over the past year, the parties have signed agreements for 26 theatres. The announcement brings to 30 the exhibitor’s total IMAX commitment, of which 16 are currently in operation. SFC is the Company’s third-largest partner in China and fifth-largest partner worldwide.
Shanghai Film Corporation is China’s largest state-owned enterprise in the exhibition industry, with the leading exhibition market share in the country. Shanghai Film Group, SFC’s parent company, and SUC opened their first IMAX theatre in 2004, which was the first commercial IMAX theatre in China.
“We are dedicated to delivering premium entertainment experiences and our commitment to IMAX is an extension of this strategy, which strengthens our business and delights our guests,” said Zhang Feng, General Manager of SFC. “With the most immersive cinematic platform available, coupled with the best in Hollywood and Chinese-language content, we look forward to offering more of our patrons a movie-going experience unlike anything they’ve had before.”
“Moviegoers in China continue to embrace IMAX as the best way to experience blockbuster films, as our experience this year has shown, with Furious 7, which is now the highest-grossing IMAX title in China of all time as well as the recently released Monster Hunt, which is the highest-grossing Chinese IMAX title to date,” said IMAX CEO, Richard L. Gelfond. “We’ve worked hard to build a business model in China that creates win/win scenarios for IMAX and our partners. SFC’s commitment to 26 IMAX theatres in a year is a testament to the success of this model.”