Imax and French movie theater group Pathé Cinemas have unveiled a deal to put five large-format theaters with laser projection systems across the Pathé cinema network in Europe, including four new locations in France.
Expanding on its stable of Imax theaters, Pathé will install five new large-format systems with laser projection. Imax did not specify the locations for the new installations and will do so at a later date.
As part of Imax’s latest Gallic invasion, the theater technologies company has also agreed to show three upcoming Pathé movies across its network. That move follows Imax and Pathé striking a partnership to bring a concert film featuring the French pop-rock band Indochine to Imax screens as part of its Filmed for Imax program.
The film slate deal will see a classical ballet stage performance of Swan Lake, co-produced by Paris Opera and Pathé Live, the cinema group’s live events division, and choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev to be filmed in Paris using Imax proprietary cameras and receive a global theatrical release at the end of 2024.
“This agreement advances two key strategic priorities for Imax: expanding our network in the thriving French cinema market and further diversifying our content portfolio across new experiences,” Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, said in a statement.
Aurélien Bosc, chairman of Pathé Cinemas, also welcomed expanding his company’s partnership with Imax. “Leveraging on the strong Imax brand and its state-of-the-art technical features, we reinforce our premium strategy by offering moviegoers emotional experiences within our cinemas and the unique opportunity to watch exclusive Live content in Imax theaters,” Bosc said.
Imax and Pathé first partnered on large-screen cinemas in 2010 and the French movie theater group currently has 26 Imax locations operating across France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Morocco.