Shanghai Bestar Cinemas Management has signed a deal to open 10 IMAX theaters in China. The new screens will be built within multiplexes at Injoy Plazas, the shopping center branch of Bestar’s parent company Future Land. They will be installed this year and in 2017.
"Bestar Cinemas was established in response to the growing Chinese film and exhibition industry and the vital role that entertainment plays in the success of our commercial property developments. In China, IMAX is synonymous with the best movie going experience” said Wang Zheng, CEO, of Bestar. He said the company plans to open over 50 cinemas in three years and over 100 cinemas in five years, half of which will be installed with IMAX theatres.
“We have relationships with virtually every major exhibitor and studio in China and continue to see increased interest among property developers in the country that have IMAX in mind at the inception of their projects – further solidifying our position in the Chinese entertainment ecosystem,” said IMAX Corp. CEO Richard L. Gelfond.
In 2015 IMAX installed 75 new theaters in China: 25 were sales-type arrangements, 29 were full revenue-sharing arrangements and 21 were hybrid revenue-sharing arrangements. At the end of 2015 the company had a network of 307 theatres in the Middle Kingdom.