IMAX SIGNS TWO-THEATER DEAL IN MONGOLIA

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ According to the news on hollywoodreporter.com website March 21, the Imax /Image MAXimum/ has signed a deal with New Tour Safaris company to bring two of its screens, and super-sized Hollywood blockbuster movies, to Mongolia. The operator of the Urgoo Cinemas chain has inked a deal to install two Imax theaters in new construction projects in Ulaanbaatar. "With the rapid expansion of our international theater network and an increased number of local-language films, we are now more globally diversified than ever and today's agreement underscores our continued focus on globalization," said Friday Andrew Cripps, president of Imax EMEA, who is charged with the company's expansion beyond North America. The Mongolian deal gets Imax into 58 countries and follows the large format exhibitor expanding in Asia, and especially China, with Hollywood and local-language movie titles. Urgoo Cinemas currently has seven screens in Mongolia, and has plans to bring seven to ten new multiplex cinemas to the country within five years, while including Imax screens. The agreement with Urgoo Cinemas gets the giant-screen exhibitor into 58 countries worldwide as it continues expanding beyond North America.