IMAX plans major expansion in China

BEIJING, July 17 (UPI) -- IMAX Corp. will premiere its first non-English film in China on July 22 and plans to double the number of giant-format movie theaters in the country by 2012.

The expansion would bring a total of 50 theaters to the mainland. China, the second-largest IMAX market behind the United States, currently has 23 IMAX cinemas, China's official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday.

"The Chinese film market is in a period of phenomenal growth," film critic Tan Fei told the news agency. "Chinese audiences want higher quality in pictures and sound, which can be seen with the popularity of films such as 'Avatar' and 'Alice in Wonderland.' So IMAX's large-format version has become a big draw for many movie operators and movie-goers."

"Aftershock," Chinese director Feng Xiaogang's story of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, will open July 22 in most of China's IMAX locations in addition to theaters across Asia and North America.

"IMAX has a strong commitment to China, evidenced by the fact we've chosen a Chinese film, Feng Xiaogang's 'Aftershock,' to be our first non-English language DMR conversion," said Don Savant, IMAX senior vice president and managing director for the Asia-Pacific. "When you combine 'Aftershock,' this amazing film he's made, with the picture and sound quality of IMAX, you get something you can't get anywhere else."