IMAX® with Laser Expands Across Europe as Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont Commits to 20 Systems

[DCI forum]

IMAX® with Laser Expands Across Europe as Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont Commits to 20 Systems

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) and Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont, leaders of exhibition theatres in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, today announced hybrid joint revenue share agreements for 20 IMAX® with Laser systems. IMAX’s new ground-breaking laser experience for commercial multiplexes and 12-channel immersive sound system will be added to a combination of new and existing Pathé and Gaumont sites across Europe. This announcement also represents the industry’s first multi-territory all-laser IMAX cinema circuit.

Source: IMAX® with Laser Expands Across Europe as Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont Commits to 20 Systems

[DCI forum]

IMAX® With Laser Expands Across Europe As Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont Commits To 20 Systems


       
IMAX Logo. (PRNewsFoto/IMAX Corporation)
IMAX Continues Signings Momentum for New Laser Experience; Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont's IMAX Circuit Will Become First Multi-Territory Network to be Fully Powered by IMAX® with Laser

Exhibitor Reaffirms IMAX Commitment and Extends Lease Terms on IMAX Locations

NEW YORK, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) and Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont, leaders of exhibition theatres in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, today announced hybrid joint revenue share agreements for 20 IMAX® with Laser systems. IMAX's new ground-breaking laser experience for commercial multiplexes and 12-channel immersive sound system will be added to a combination of new and existing Pathé and Gaumont sites across Europe. This announcement also represents the industry's first multi-territory all-laser IMAX cinema circuit.

Under these agreements, Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont will upgrade 11 IMAX digital theatres in operation to IMAX with Laser along with renewed 10-year lease terms, reinforcing its commitment to The IMAX Experience®. In addition, seven IMAX with Laser systems will replace IMAX theatre systems that are currently contracted to open. Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont will also add IMAX with Laser systems to two new IMAX® theatres to be located in France. Under the agreements, the new technology is slated to be installed between 2018 and 2023, with 10 IMAX with Laser systems to be added to IMAX theatres in France, seven in the Netherlands and three in Switzerland.

With these agreements, Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont has a total of 30 IMAX® theatres that are currently open or contracted to open, including 18 theatres in France, seven in the Netherlands, four in Switzerland and one in Belgium.

In 2005, the exhibitor opened its first IMAX theatre in Amsterdam and today its IMAX locations are among the highest-grossing in Europe.

"The accelerated adoption of IMAX with Laser and success of our existing flagship theatres is fueling our expansion across Western Europe – particularly in France, where we have tripled our contracted network in the last two years," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "Since the launch of our new laser experience in April, we have signed over 170 deals, marking the fastest uptake to a new technology in our 50-year history. We believe this is a testament to the highly differentiated experience IMAX with Laser delivers and the commitment to innovation from top theatre operators such as Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont, whose IMAX network will be the first to be fully powered by IMAX with Laser."

"We are proud to announce that Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont will equip 30 IMAX® with Laser theatres in Europe by 2023. We are the first network committed to be fully powered by IMAX® with Laser. This commitment forms an integral part of our innovation and upgrading strategy, by which we aim to offer movie-goers an increasingly intense and immersive cinema experience," said Martine Odillard, Chairman of Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont.

IMAX with Laser provides audiences with strikingly crystal-clear and vivid images to suspend disbelief when experiencing today's biggest blockbusters. The next-generation 4K laser projection system features a new optical engine and suite of proprietary IMAX technologies that delivers increased resolution, sharper and brighter images, deeper contrast as well as the widest range of colors available to filmmakers to present more distinct, exotic colors than ever before.

The new system will also feature IMAX's 12-channel sound technology that incorporates new side and overheard channels to deliver greater dynamic range and precision for ultimate audio immersion and sound you can feel.

About Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont
Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont are leaders of exhibition theatres in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. They are also present in Belgium. At the end of 2017, Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont operated 111 movie theatres, totaling 1,091 screens, 66,2 million admissions and 760 million euros in revenue. Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont strategy of upgrading and modernizing is based on an active policy of creation, reconstruction, and renovation, constant innovation with the latest technologies, new and adapted services and an optimized viewer experience, at the cinema and online.

Les Cinemas Pathé Gaumont is owned by Pathé, one of the biggest film producers in Europe and a major player in film distribution.

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 theaters 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 additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of March 31, 2018, there were 1,382 IMAX theater systems (1,286 commercial multiplexes, 12 commercial destinations, 84 institutional) operating in 77 countries. On Oct. 8, 2015, shares of IMAX China, a subsidiary of IMAX Corp., began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "HK.1970."

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX nXos® 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.