Cambodia and new Bangkok screens in the picture for IMAX

Richard Gelfond, chief executive of IMAX Corporation, was in Bangkok yesterday to promote the opening of the first IMAX screen in Cambodia as well as at Icon Siam next year, together with Vicha Poolvaraluk, chairman of Major Cineplex Group Plc, the largest operator of movie theatres in Thailand. The IMAX cinema will be opened in Cambodia in May and in October at the Icon Siam complex in Bangkok.
“Cambodian people have a similar movie culture and lifestyle to Thais. We thus have seen a good potential to open our first IMAX screen in the country,” said Vicha, adding that the group has 16 ordinary cinema screens in Cambodia, comprising 13 in Phnom Penh, including six screens in a complex that opened yesterday in Sorya, and three in Siem Reap.
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that audiences beyond the edge of their seats to a world never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilising IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX’s network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe, the company said. 
Currently, Major Cineplex owns six IMAX locations in Thailand, at Siam Paragon, Major Ratchayothin, EmQuartier, Central Plaza Westgate, Central Festival Chiang Mai and Central Festival Hat Yai.
In addition to the IMAX theatre, the first IMAX VR Experience center in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia after China, will be opened in Bangkok in February next year at Siam Paragon. The unique selling points for IMAX VR is the most advance VR technology together with Hollywood titles content that will be exclusive in IMAX VR at the beginning of the release. 
“For now, we have 1,400 locations in the world and half of them in China,” said Gelfond. “In Thailand we’ll open in Cambodia in May 2018 and Icon Siam will open in October 2018. We have a strategy to try virtual reality’s IMAX VR in multiplexes. We only have 10 in the world. And one will be opened right here, Paragon Cineplex, in mid-February.”
“There is a lot of potential in the Southeast Asia market. Even in Thailand, we only have six theatres opened with the Icon Siam cinema to come, aside from the Cambodian venue. Thailand has a big population of 70 million, which could expand further in the next five years,” said Gelfond, adding that IMAX would expand into other emerging countries in the region. 
He said that there are two IMAX theatres in Vietnam, and the first theatre in Cambodia will be opened next year with Major Cineplex. There is no IMAX theatre in Laos.
“In Malaysia and Indonesia, we have a very successful business. In China, we didn’t’ have any IMAX theatre in 2000, but now we have 500 IMAX screens opened in the country, and another 400 scheduled to open in five years,” said Gelfond. “This is compared to 400 screens in North America. In India, we have 20 IMAX screens opened and 10 more will be opened. These are the most exciting areas in the world for IMAX. Currently, 50 per cent of the IMAX network is in Asia. Asia is the fastest growth market. We’ll open the first IMAX in Saudi-Arabia soon.
“As for the impact of streaming, IMAX continues to be the premium way to experience the entertainment,” . People says let’s go to the IMAX instead of go to see a movie. We have a new marketing department and we put a lot more funding into marketing and directing it more to the differentiation issue. Also on the technology front, we have continued to evolve. We always innovate and have a new sound system and we plan to roll out our next generation product, the IMAX LASER. This is a new IMAX camera to capture the images better, We continue to work with the filmmaker all over the world, such as JJ Abrams, Christopher Nolan and Frank Marshall of Jurassic World. The best filmmakers always make movies in IMAX," he said. 
Gelfond said that the emergence of digital technology has not had a big impact on IMAX and blockbuster movies. It’ll impact only mid-level movie. 
“IMAX is all about event movies. For the studio point of view it’s not only selling the movie ticket - they create a sequel, sell merchandising, they want a ride in a theme park and sell the music. 
We put IMAX in the Royal Robert Hall for a huge event in London which Prince Charles attended. For streaming, you can’t count a customer. It’s not a social experience. For a mid-level or lower cost movie from Adam Sandler or Woody Allen, it will have an impact there as people will go direct to streaming - but not for the blockbusters,” he said. "After the Fox movie business acquisition by Disney, they will oppose and slow down the move to streaming.”