India's PVR Cinemas Expands IMAX Commitment With Theatre Agreement

NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and PVR Ltd. (PVR Cinemas), India's leading cinema brand and operator of the country's top-performing multiplexes, today announced an agreement to install an IMAX^® theatre system in Bangalore that is scheduled to open by March 2013.  The deal follows an earlier agreement with PVR Cinemas announced in March 2011 for four IMAX theatres, bringing the exhibitor's total IMAX commitment to five. Today's deal also brings to 14 the total number of IMAX theatres open or contracted to open in India.

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Under 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 in 2012, with the other two IMAX theatres set to go into new construction projects in the cities of Delhi and Noida, which are slated to open in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

"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 Ajay Bijli, Chairman of PVR. "We view IMAX as a competitive advantage for our business and we are delighted to bring more audiences in Bangalore The IMAX Experience^®."

"We're excited to expand our partnership with PVR – now our second largest exhibitor in India," said IMAX CEO, Richard L. Gelfond. "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% of India's internal annual box-office receipts."

"PVR is a true innovator in the Indian exhibition industry, offering guests modern, state-of-the-art entertainment venues and we're pleased to build on our partnership," said Don Savant, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific. "Today's agreement underscores the traction we are making in India and as the country's multiplex infrastructure continues to grow, we're excited to be on the ground floor of this emerging market."

About PVR
PVR is one of the largest and most premium film entertainment companies in India. The company pioneered the multiplex revolution in India by establishing the first multiplex cinema in 1997. Currently, PVR operates a cinema circuit consisting of 142 screens spread over 18 key cities in India. PVR's service offerings include low-cost multi-screen cinemas that offer superior ambience and high hygiene standards for consumers in Tier II cities; branded as 'PVR Talkies' at one end of spectrum. On the other hand, the company has launched the premium brand of multiplexes called "PVR Premiere" which includes Gold Class Cinemas that caters to the esteemed urban consumers with facilities like 180-degree leather upholstered reclining seats, personalized menu, lounge areas, and many such services. In addition, PVR forayed into retail entertainment format by entering into a partnership with Major Cineplex, Thailand for opening bowling alleys under PVR BluO as a subsidiary. The company also operates a film distribution and production business through its subsidiary, PVR Pictures, which is involved in production of films across genres and distribution of Indian and international films across India.  

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 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 June 30, 2012, there were 663 IMAX theatres (529 commercial multiplex, 20 commercial destination and 114 institutional) in 52 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. 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 performance of IMAX DMR films, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by IMAX, competitive actions by other companies, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes in law or regulations, conditions, changes and developments in the commercial exhibition industry, the failure to respond to changes and advancements in digital technology, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions and any future international expansion, the inability to protect IMAX's intellectual property foreign currency fluctuations and IMAX's prior restatements and the related litigation.  These factors and other 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