IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) and BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination announced a new partnership designed to revolutionise the way audiences discover and engage with premium entertainment experiences online. Under the agreement, IMAX and BookMyShow will collaborate on features across the entertainment platform to enhance the user experience and ease of discovery for moviegoers seeking The IMAX Experience®.
IMAX will have higher visibility and discoverability on BookMyShow, and the platform will highlight IMAX releases through targeted marketing efforts, beginning with the highly anticipated film Dune: Part Two. BookMyShow users can also explore a dedicated page about The IMAX Experience, including a list of current IMAX films and locations and in their cities, upcoming releases and more. This new partnership will provide audiences with seamless access to the latest Indian films and Hollywood releases, and will ensure a streamlined and hassle-free experience for moviegoers in India. This initiative is off to a strong start with IMAX tickets making up 31% of the total Dune: Part Two tickets sold on BookMyShow, demonstrating a strong demand for immersive cinematic experiences.
“Moviegoers in India continue to show a strong preference for IMAX, with the Company delivering its best year ever at the Indian box office in 2023,” said Preetham Daniel, VP, Theatre Development, IMAX Corporation. “This partnership is designed to elevate the ways our fans connect with IMAX, and we look forward to exploring new innovative initiatives to ensure it’s a premium cinema experience from beginning to end.”
Commenting on the partnership, Samradha Tibrewala, Head - Partnerships & Revenue, BookMyShow said, "Watching movies in theatres is a cultural phenomenon deeply rooted in the hearts of millions across India, and over the past few years, we have witnessed significant growth in transactions as well as audience interest in premium cinematic experiences. We have been actively working with industry partners to create windows of opportunity for higher visibility and discoverability of their offerings on our platform, thereby creating an easy and seamless movie booking experience for various consumer cohorts part of the BookMyShow universe. Our partnership with IMAX furthers these efforts and enhances the overall moviegoing experience for our users as we continue to deliver an unparalleled entertainment experience at every step of their movie watching journey.”
Over the past few years, there has been an evolution in the tastes and preferences of the Indian audience in the out-of-home entertainment realm. According to BookMyShow’s recently released ‘The CineFiles’ consumer survey report, the incorporation of cutting-edge technologies and immersive cinematic experiences has further heightened the magic of the big screen. Advanced sound systems, state-of-the-art visual effects and larger-than-life screens continue to transport audiences into captivating worlds. This has further translated into the survey, with 74% respondents opting to watch a movie in the theatre for the immersive larger screen and high audio quality experience. 40% respondents almost always opt for premium screens, showing a significant rise in audience interest for the premium movie-watching experience.
2023 was the highest grossing year ever for IMAX at the Indian box office and the Company delivered over $1 billion at the global box office for only the third time in its history. Local Indian content performed extremely well, with releases like Jawan and Pathaan helping topple previous box office records set in 2022. In 2024, IMAX will continue to debut more awe-inspiring Hollywood blockbusters and local releases in India, including the highly anticipated film Dune: Part Two, which released in IMAX locations across the country on March 1.
Experience Dune: Part Two in IMAX – tickets are now on sale now on BookMyShow.
About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture, and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX systems to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, making IMAX's network among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.
IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles, with additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of December 31, 2023, there were 1,772 IMAX systems (1,693 commercial multiplexes, 12 commercial destinations, 67 institutional) operating in 90 countries and territories. Shares of IMAX China Holding, Inc., a subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "1970”.
IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, Experience It In IMAX®, The IMAX Experience®, DMR®, Filmed For IMAX®, IMAX LIVE™, and IMAX Enhanced® are trademarks and trade names of IMAX Corporation or its subsidiaries that are registered or otherwise protected under laws of various jurisdictions. For more information, visit www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Instagram (www.instagram.com/imax), Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/imax), X (www.twitter.com/imax), and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).
About BookMyShow:
Launched in 2007, BookMyShow, owned and operated by Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (founded in 1999), is India's leading entertainment destination with global operations and the one-stop shop for every entertainment need. The firm is present in over 700 towns and cities in India and works with partners across the industry to provide unmatched entertainment experiences to millions of customers. Over the years, the company has evolved from a purely online ticketing platform for movies across 7,000 plus screens, to end-to-end management of live entertainment events including music concerts, live performances, theatricals, sports and more, all accomplished at par with global standards. Some of the key properties that BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment experiential division of BookMyShow, has brought to its markets over the past few years include Lollapalooza India, Backstreet Boys’ DNA World Tour, Post Malone’s debut India show at the Feeding India concert, U2’s The Joshua Tree Tour, NBA’s debut games in India, Disney’s Aladdin, Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR as also international artists such as Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber to name a few.
BookMyShow is invested in providing the best user experience, whether on-ground or online and to that effect, launched BookMyShow Stream, India’s largest home-grown transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) platform hosting award-winning and critically acclaimed content from around the world, complementing its cinemas business. BookMyShow also houses India’s most extensive organic reviews and ratings engine for movies and has driven technology innovations, such as the m-ticket and Movie Mode, impacting tens of millions of users and the industry at large. With continued support from marquee investors like TPG Growth, Stripes Group, Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), Accel and Network18, BookMyShow has constantly demonstrated category leadership, growing beyond India with operations in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, UAE and Sri Lanka. BookMyShow is also committed to society at large, by way of its charity initiative BookASmile, which supports special causes to enrich the lives of the less fortunate across India through entertainment-led experiences.
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