IMAX Partners With Content Distributor PRIMA Cinema To Provide Current Theatrical Releases In The Home

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of a broader strategy to expand The IMAX Experience® in the home, IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) today announced it has acquired a stake and a significant option position in PRIMA Cinema Inc., whose proprietary systems transmit current theatrical releases from powerhouse studios like Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in a highly encrypted, location-sensitive fashion for secure home viewing.

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IMAX plans to integrate the PRIMA Cinema technology into the IMAX® Private Theatre and other potential platforms, enhancing the image and sound of the content through its digital re-mastering (IMAX DMR®) process, which enables IMAX customers to access current theatrical releases of the highest possible quality. 

As part of the agreement, IMAX will receive a five-year window of exclusivity to distribute and resell PRIMA systems in China. IMAX will also maintain a seat on PRIMA Cinema's board of directors.

"Today's agreement with PRIMA Cinema enhances our ability to deliver a premium, end-to-end in-home entertainment experience, combining the best of IMAX's immersive image and sound technology with the delivery of current theatrical titles," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "In addition to using PRIMA Cinema in our IMAX Private Theatre systems, we are also exploring ways to integrate IMAX's proprietary technology and PRIMA Cinema's delivery system into other premium in-home applications."

"PRIMA Cinema is incredibly proud to partner with IMAX and introduce a new level of innovation in the digital entertainment industry," said Jason Pang, PRIMA Cinema Founder and CEO. "We've set a high bar in terms of security and quality with our current PRIMA Cinema system. Complementing the IMAX Private Theater raises it to new heights and creates an entirely new digital outlet for the film industry."

IMAX has leveraged 40 years of cutting-edge, proprietary and patented technology and architecture to custom-design a new premium home offering that is multi-sensory, immersive, and visceral. The IMAX Private Theatre combines breathtaking IMAX^® and IMAX^® 3D images, flawless sound and optimized theatre design to deliver the ultimate in-home entertainment experience. For more information on the IMAX Private Theatre, please visit www.imaxprivatetheatre.com.

About PRIMA Cinema

PRIMA Cinema is the world's first and only exclusive entertainment experience delivering Hollywood films to the comfort of your private home theater concurrently with the box office release. The films available on PRIMA Cinema span all genres, from action and adventure to comedy, romance, sci-fi and kids entertainment, and have included: Rush, 2 Guns, Riddick, Fast & Furious 6, Ted, The Bourne Legacy, Les Miserables, The Purge, and Identity Thief, as well as acclaimed independent films such as Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom and popular family films including Despicable Me 2 and ParaNorman. PRIMA will provide exclusive at-home opening premieres for Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg and Eric Bana, About Time starring Rachel McAdams and Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner.

PRIMA Cinema delivers a cinematic experience providing for uninterrupted better than Blu-ray quality playback and built-in support for 3D features. For the ultimate in security, PRIMA offers the world's first biometric authentication device for movie rental, bringing film to your fingertips like never before.

PRIMA Cinema is led by a team of media and technology veterans who are working in conjunction with Hollywood film studios to pioneer a new cinematic experience for the theatrical industry.  PRIMA Cinema has corporate offices in Los Angeles and San Diego, California. PRIMA Cinema is financially backed by Best Buy Capital, Universal Pictures, Syncom Venture Partners, IMAX Corporation, and select private investors.

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of Sept. 30, 2013, there were 785 IMAX theatres (653 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 113 institutions) in 55 countries.

IMAX^®, IMAX^® 3D, IMAX DMR^®, Experience It In IMAX^®, An IMAX 3D Experience^®, The IMAX Experience^® and IMAX Is Believing^® 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. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX'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