Egypt’s largest multiplex, Galaxy Festival City Cinemas, Cairo, is installing the Barco Escape premium theater experience – a first in the Middle East. The cinema exhibitor will premiere the three-screen, panoramic Escape format July 27 with one of the movie industry’s most anticipated summer films, Star Trek Beyond.
The world’s biggest shopping mall – The Dubai Mall – will soon feature the largest cinema complex in the world powered exclusively by Barco Flagship Laser projectors. Committed to offering its audiences a truly exceptional movie-going experience, Reel Cinemas will fit each of the 22 theaters at its multiplex at The Dubai Mall with Barco Flagship Laser projectors. In addition, the cinema will feature a Barco Escape installation – another first in the Gulf region. All the existing 22 digital cinema projectors at Reel Cinemas, The Dubai Mall will be replaced by Barco’s Flagship RGB Laser projectors (21x DP4K-22L; 1x DP4K-30L).
At this year’s CineEurope in Barcelona, June 20-23, Barco will showcase how its cinema solutions offer moviegoers a unique cinema experience and provide exhibitors with a strong return on investment.
Cinema immersive sound is upside down. Technology providers invest in intellectual property for immersive sound rendering engines, but they compete on the availability of content. Trading on content has been counterproductive to growth, contributing to a lackluster immersive sound installation count that is less than two percent of worldwide screens. Immersive sound has more moving parts to address than distribution, but the industry is fixated on a design from scratch, do-everything, distribution standard that’s two and a half years in the making and at least as many years from finding its way into cinemas. A deeper look shows that the key friction point of production for competing systems has been addressed. It’s time to put immersive sound right side up and grow the format.
Christie will be providing all the projection for Spain’s first permanent dome to showcase 360° and other immersive environments including a second dome dedicated to virtual reality. Held in Madrid, the Immersive Festival Madrid 2016 is running from May 18-21 at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) and is free to attend.
CJ 4DPlex has installed its immersive seating technology in the east European market, available for the first time in Slovakia through a partnership with Cineworld Plc, Europe’s number two multiplex chain. CJ 4DPlex brought the first 4DX theatre to Slovakia on May 11, and the first screening presented was Captain America: Civil War, beginning May 12. Cineworld’s Cinema City is operating three multiplexes and 29 screens in Slovakia and the first 4DX theatre is located in Cinema City Aupark, the biggest residential area with easy access from any point in Bratislava, the central city of Slovakia. Cinema City Aupark, operating 12 screens and 2313 seats, is situated in Aupark Mall, the most famous culture complex shopping center in Slovakia, including lots of restaurants, sports centers, cafes, and shops.
ScreenX has unveiled the feature films that will be released this year in the immersive multi-screen format. They include two Korean films and two Chinese films. Operation Chromite follows the heroic Korean soldiers who carried out a pivotal covert operation during the Korean War. Liam Neeson stars as General MacArthur. Lee Jung-jae and Lee Beom-soo also star. The film is directed by Lee Jae-han and produced by Taewon Entertainment. ScreenX will be utilized during the battle scenes as well as some of the other key action sequences. (July 2016)
Barco has announced deals with two top production companies to release multiple upcoming titles in Barco’s multi-screen, immersive movie format, Barco Escape. Cross Creek Pictures, the production company behind thrillers Black Swan, Everest, Rush, and Black Mass, has committed to go into development on a film in Barco Escape by 2017. Cross Creek Pictures recently announced a three-year co-financing, production, and distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
FlyOver America, a new special venue attraction directed by Sherpas Cinema recently debuted at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, with the $30 million attraction promising to give visitors the ride of their life.
Barco and Bad Robot Productions today announced that Star Trek Beyond, one of this year’s most anticipated films, will be released in Barco’s multi-screen theatrical format Barco Escape. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot has agreed to master a special version of the film, expanding the storytelling across three screens to unveil a thrilling new movie going experience to audiences when the film, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions, releases on July 22.
