IMAX Expands Relationship With China's Broadway Theatre Company With Four Theatre Deal

BEIJING, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX) and Broadway Theatre Company Ltd. (Broadway) today announced two agreements to install a total of four digital IMAX^® theatre systems into new multiplexes across Greater China, bringing Broadway's total IMAX commitment to six theatres. With today's agreements, there are 217 IMAX^® theatres open or contracted to open in Greater China. 

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Under the terms of the agreements, the first two systems are scheduled to open at Yoho Town, Hong Kong, and in Wenzhou, China in 2013. Broadway currently operates an IMAX theatre in Hangzhou with another set to open by the end of this year at iapm in Puxi, Shanghai.

"The success of our first IMAX theatre in Hangzhou has demonstrated the great enthusiasm our patrons have for The IMAX Experience, which is a key differentiator in our business," said Ms. Tessa Lau, Executive Director of Broadway. "We look forward to offering the world's most immersive movie experience to more of our customers with these four new locations."

"Broadway's Hangzhou IMAX theatre has generated approximately $2.4 million in box office since its opening in August 2010, underscoring the appetite among Chinese moviegoers for IMAX and the results we can deliver for our exhibition partners," said Jiande Chen, CEO of IMAX China.  "We are pleased to build on our partnership with Broadway as we continue to expand our network in China."

"With today's announcement, we're not only expanding our network in China, but we are also reinforcing our commitment to presenting Chinese blockbuster movies in the IMAX format by forging stronger ties with an important creative force in the industry," said Don Savant, IMAX Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific. "Broadway is a strategic partner for IMAX that is led by Bill Kong, an executive producer of many blockbuster films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon."

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 IMAX China
IMAX (Shanghai) Multimedia Technology Co., Ltd. (IMAX China) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, and is formed under the laws of the People's Republic of China. IMAX China was established by IMAX Corporation specifically to oversee the expansion of IMAX's business throughout Greater China.

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 theatres 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) 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