ODEON Cinemas Group and IMAX Corporation announced Monday an expansion of their partnership spanning key European cinema markets. Under the agreement, ODEON will upgrade six IMAX theatres across the U.K. to IMAX with Laser systems.
Additionally, ODEON and IMAX have set locations for nine previously contracted new theatres across Europe: four new theatres in Spain, two in Italy, and one in each of Germany, Sweden, and the U.K.. All new locations will be installed by 2025.
The announcement was made Monday at the annual CineEurope convention in Barcelona, Spain.
ODEON and IMAX have a longstanding partnership spanning nearly fifteen years. ODEON opened its first IMAX theatre in 2008 and the two companies signed an agreement in 2017 for 25 IMAX theatres, which still stands as IMAX’s largest European theatre agreement in its history.
ODEON is currently IMAX’s largest partner in Europe, with 34 theatres currently in operation, and an additional 11 new locations to be installed by 2025. Four of IMAX’s top five highest grossing locations in Europe are in ODEON cinemas.
IMAX with Laser is IMAX’s most advanced theatre experience, including a 4K laser projection system.
“We are delighted to be expanding our long-running partnership with IMAX, as we continue to invest across our estate to make movies better for our guests,” Mark Way, AMC Europe’s President and ODEON Cinemas Group’s Managing Director, said in a press release. “We have been encouraged by the amount of guests returning, seeking the most immersive experience possible, and we look forward to the rest of the year with confidence, buoyed by a range of great films to show them.”
“Europe has been a key driver of the resurgence in global cinema, with audiences returning in strong numbers for this incredible blockbuster slate and exhibitors like ODEON raising the bar for the theatrical experience,” IMAX’s CEO Rich Gelfond added. “As we grow market share around the world, IMAX continues to grow, diversify, and enhance its global network, and this new agreement with our longstanding partners at ODEON further accelerates our momentum.”
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