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#Imax to Expand in Japan With 7 New Locations

Imax to Expand in Japan With 7 New Locations

Imax is demonstrating its bullishness on the Japanese theatrical market. The company unveiled a deal Wednesday with local exhibitor Aeon Entertainment to add seven new, state-of-the-art Imax with laser theaters across Japan this year. All seven systems are scheduled to be installed in existing multiplexes by summer 2023 in regions previously untapped by Imax. The expansion follows an agreement between Aeon and Imax that was unveiled at CinemaCon in April 2022 for two new locations outside Tokyo and Osaka. 

The pact continues a strategy of steady expansion for Imax in Japan, the world’s third-largest theatrical market. Imax has nearly tripled its network in Japan over the last decade, from just 16 locations in 2012 to 41 today. Japan also was Imax’s third highest grossing global market in 2022 with more than $73 million in box office and home to six of the company’s top 15 highest grossing locations. And the company reports that 31 of its Japanese Imax locations generated box office of more than $1 million in 2022, a figure second only to the U.S.

“Japan continues to be an incredible market for Imax, and we’re very pleased that Aeon is taking the opportunity to rapidly expand our partnership and bring the Imax experience to even more of its customers,” Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, said in a statement. 

Imax earned a record $40.2 million in global box office with Japanese-language releases in 2022 — up 26 percent over 2021. Japanese anime has emerged as a particularly strong growth area for the company, from the recent Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and  One Piece Film: Red to 2020’s Demon Slayer, the highest-grossing Imax film of all time in Japan. Upcoming Japanese titles releasing in Imax includes next month’s much anticipated Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — To the Swordsmith Village.

Hollywood tentpoles also have shown a growing potency in the Imax format in Japan. Recently, Imax has generated 20 percent of total Japanese box office with Avatar: The Way of Water on only a fraction of total screens. Last year, Top Gun: Maverick generated box office of $18 million on Imax screens in Japan, the second highest gross for an Imax title ever in the country. 

Added Yasuhiro Asada, president and representative director of Aeon Entertainment: “We look forward to expanding our partnership with Imax, a provider of innovative entertainment technology, to provide strong support for our mission of enhancing the value of the theater-going experience. We will continue to actively introduce the latest equipment and services that will add value to our theaters.” 

The new locations will be equipped with “Imax with laser technology,” Imax’s most advanced theatre experience. Imax describes the tech as being “set apart by a groundbreaking 4k laser projection system that features a new optical engine, custom designed lenses, and a suite of proprietary technology that delivers brighter images with increased resolution, deeper contrast, and the widest range of colors exclusively to Imax systems.”

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