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MUMBAI:
PVR Ltd. (PVR Cinemas), India's leading cinema brand
and operator of the country's top-performing multiplexes,
has entered into an agreement to install an IMAX theatre
system in Bangalore that is scheduled to open by March
next year.
The
deal follows an earlier agreement with PVR Cinemas announced
in March last year for four IMAX theatres, bringing
the exhibitor's total IMAX commitment to five. The deal
also brings to 14 the total number of IMAX theatres
open or contracted to open in India.
"Audiences
across India are passionate about cinema and with IMAX's
worldwide brand, more and more patrons want to experience
films in the premium immersive format only IMAX can
deliver," said PVR Chairman Ajay Bijli. "We
view IMAX as a competitive advantage for our business
and we are delighted to bring more audiences in Bangalore
The IMAX Experience," he added.
Going
by the terms of today's agreement, PVR Cinemas will
install an IMAX theatre in a multiplex in Bangalore's
Vega Mall - a new construction project that is slated
to open by March 2013. The exhibitor also plans to
open two of its previously contracted IMAX theatres
in existing complexes in Bangalore and Mumbai this
year, with the other two IMAX theatres set to go into
new construction projects in the cities of Delhi and
Noida that are slated to open in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
IMAX
CEO Richard L. Gelfond said, "We're excited to
expand our partnership with PVR - now our second largest
exhibitor in India. With a population of 1.2 billion,
a growing middle-class and strong movie-going culture,
India is a market poised for tremendous growth. We
also believe that by the end of 2013, we will be in
a position to begin offering IMAX versions of Bollywood
titles, which account for 90 per cent of India's internal
annual box-office receipts."
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