IMAX Expands Relationship With SPI in India With Four-Theatre Deal

NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) (TSX:IMX) and SPI Cinemas Private Limited (SPI) today announced an agreement to install four digital IMAX® theatre systems in new SPI Cinemas complexes across India.  The deal brings the total number of commercial IMAX® theatres open or contracted to open in India to 13.

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The local Indian film market currently ranks number one in the world for attendance and film production with over 1,000 films produced a year and approximately 90% of revenues derived from non-English language movies.  Recent reports project the country's film industry to grow from $3.2 billion in 2010 to $5 billion by 2014.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with SPI in India," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.  "Not only is SPI Cinemas' commitment to offering cutting-edge entertainment experiences perfectly aligned with the IMAX brand, but this agreement puts us in position to consider the local release of Bollywood films, which will be key to the success and growth of IMAX in this strategically important region of world."

"SPI is a leading player in the Indian exhibition industry, with multiplexes that have some of the highest attendance rates.  Today's agreement will bring IMAX theatres into their new multiplexes, which will be located in high-growth areas," said Don Savant, IMAX's Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific. "Our unparalleled technology, worldwide brand and exciting film slate coupled with SPI's state-of-the art multiplexes are sure to thrill audiences across India and we are pleased to join forces with them once again."

IMAX's digital projection system delivers The IMAX Experience® and helps drive profitability for studios, exhibitors and IMAX theatres by eliminating the need for film prints, increasing program flexibility and ultimately increasing the number of movies shown on IMAX screens. The system can run both IMAX and IMAX® 3D presentations.

About SPI Cinemas

SPI Cinemas Private Ltd. is a leading player in the Indian entertainment industry offering services such as exhibition, distribution and production.  With a focus on providing a paramount movie viewing experience, the group exhibits movies in settings like never before. The group's portfolio consists of the legendary Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai, the first multiplex in India to have state-of-the-art digital screens, concept restaurants and India's largest gaming zone – Blur; Escape, Chennai's first luxury cineplex with amenities such as free gaming, designer food, a reading lounge and spa to name a few; thecinema @ Brookefields, Coimbatore's trendy new cineplex, where contemporary fashion meets the new age customer, in a setting that is a style statement on its own.  The group is gearing up to launch a number of boutique multiplexes across the country this year. 

SPI Cinemas is also one of the key distributors of films in Tamil Nadu and has forayed into the music business with Think Music to distribute Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film sound tracks via digital media and Purplenote to distribute non-film contemporary music.  In 2009, SPI Cinemas announced its entry into feature film production with the Tamil film, Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru.  The 2nd production under the banner is Nootrenbadhu (180) in 2011.

More about the company can be found at www.spicinemas.in.  You may also connect with the various brands on Facebook (www.facebook.com/theofficialsathyamcinemas), (www.facebook.com/theofficialescapecinemas), (www.facebook.com/theofficialthecinema)

About IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment and technology companies, specializing in the creation and delivery of premium, awe-inspiring entertainment experiences. With a growing suite of cutting-edge motion picture and sound technologies, and a globally recognized entertainment brand, IMAX is singularly situated at the convergence of the entertainment industry, innovation and the digital media world. The industry's top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and as such, the IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. The Company's new digital projection and sound systems - combined with a growing blockbuster film slate - are fueling the rapid expansion of the IMAX network in established markets such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Russia. IMAX theaters deliver the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX®, IMAX 3D®, and IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-Mastering) technologies. IMAX DMR enables virtually any motion picture to be transformed into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®. 

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of September 30, 2011, there were 583 IMAX theatres (441 commercial multiplex, 23 commercial destination and 119 institutional) operating in 48 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience® and The IMAX Experience® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Important factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, general economic, market or business conditions, including the length and severity of the current economic downturn, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by IMAX, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes and developments in the commercial exhibition industry, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions, foreign currency fluctuations and IMAX's prior restatements and the related litigation.  These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

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SOURCE IMAX Corporation