Canadian IMAX Corporation has entered into an agreement with Beijing Bona International Cineplex Investment and Management Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bona Film Group, to bring three more IMAX theaters in China, increasing its total to four.
The first IMAX theater opened by Bona is located in Tianjin. With the new agreement, China's leading film distributor will now be adding the IMAX special-venue film presentation formats in theaters in Wuhan, Beijing and Taiyuan.
Regarding the deal, Bona founder, chairman and CEO Yu Dong said: "The booming film industry in China presents strong growth prospects for our film and exhibition business and IMAX is a tremendous partner that has supported our success on both fronts."
For his part, IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond in his response said: "From film production, distribution, to exhibition, Bona--like IMAX--is a diversified company that is an important part of China's film ecosystem and are delighted that Bona continues to invest in IMAX and look forward to future film and theater collaborations with this strategic partner."
The first time for Bona and IMAX to collaborate was on 2011's "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," which went on to become the second highest grossing IMAX Chinese-language title to date.
This August's "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom" was the second Bona film to be set in the IMAX format.
IMAX is now the most widely used system for special-venue film presentations. According to the company, there were a total of 880 IMAX theaters (752 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 110 institutions) in 60 countries as of September 30 this year. More are currently being built in order to take advantage of the "world's best cinematic presentations."
Aside from Bona, IMAX has forged strategic alliances, relationships and joint ventures with some of the most prominent exhibitors in the world, including AMC Entertainment, Regal Cinemas Inc., CJCGV, Lark International Multimedia, Muvico Theatres Inc., National Amusements Inc., Tokyu Cinemas and many more regional operators.