Movie Theater Interior - H 2012
Getty ImagesImax has expanded its ties to China’s Omnijoi Cinema Development with a new 40-screen deal.
The agreement brings Omnijoi’s total Imax commitment to 72 theaters in China’s fast-growing movie market, making Omnijoi Imax’s third-largest exhibition partner in the Asia Pacific region and the fifth-largest partner globally.
Omnijoi expects most of the new 40 theaters to be open by the end of 2020 in new multiplexes. The company is a subsidiary of Omnijoi Film Television Culture Group Co., a state-owned business in the film production and cinema markets in China.
The Chinese enterprise last ordered 15 new Imax screens in October 2015 and opened its first Imax theater in Suzhou in 2011. The 40-theater deal comes as Imax eyes continued expansion in China to take advantage of that fast-growing moviegoing market.
Besides Hollywood tentpoles, Imax has been showing local-language Chinese movies on its giant screens, including Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back in early 2017.
