Nigerians Report Online: IMAX and Ster-Kinekor Expand Partnership With Two New Movie Theaters in South Africa

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

IMAX and Ster-Kinekor Expand Partnership With Two New Movie Theaters in South Africa

IMAX and Ster-Kinekor Expand Partnership With A Further Two-Theatre Deal Building on Success of the IMAX® Theatre at Ster-Kinekor Gateway in Durban,

South Africa's Top Exhibitor to Bring The IMAX Experience® to Pretoria East and Johannesburg

NEW YORK, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and Ster-Kinekor Theatres, a division of Primedia (Pty) Ltd., today announced an agreement for two further IMAX^® theatres. The first IMAX theatre will be added to the exhibitor's upcoming multiplex at The Grove Mall in Pretoria East in June 2014, with a second to be added to another new multiplex at the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Johannesburg in the second half of 2015. The deal brings Ster-Kinekor's IMAX commitment to three theatres.

"Today's agreement is a direct result of the success of our first IMAX theatre in Durban, which has been tremendously popular with our patrons and has strengthened the overall performance of our multiplex," said Fiaz Mahomed, CEO, Ster-Kinekor. "IMAX helps us deliver on our commitment to offer our guests a premium entertainment experience and we are proud to bring more movie-goers in South Africa the biggest event films in the world's most immersive format."

"Given the box office success of the first IMAX theater in Durban, we are very pleased to see Ster- Kinekor commit to two additional locations in South Africa just nine months after their first opening," said Andrew Cripps, President of IMAX EMEA. "South Africa was one of a number of new countries that we entered in 2013, which also included Germany, Switzerland, and Portugal, and it is clear there is a growing appetite for IMAX in the market. We look forward to working with Ster-Kinekor to help build the IMAX brand throughout the country."

About Ster-Kinekor Theatres
Ster-Kinekor Theatres is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Primedia Group and is the largest movie exhibitor on the African continent. The company operates 54 commercial cinema complexes in South Africa, with five international sites based in Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The cinema chain's sites house more than 450 large-scale screens, over 64000 seats and the largest 3D footprint featuring more than 120 state-of-the-art 3D screens across the country.

As the industry leader, Ster-Kinekor has pioneered cinema concepts such as Cinema Nouveau, one of the world's largest dedicated art-house multiplex circuits, and the luxurious Cine Prestige theatres, the first 'business class' cinema experience in South Africa. It boasts one of the few cinemas on the continent that is fitted with the advanced Dolby Atmos sound system (at Gateway in Durban); and has headed the return of The IMAX Experience^®, with the opening of the IMAX^®Theatre at Gateway in 2013. As one of South Africa's most loved brands, it is Ster-Kinekor's ongoing mission to become synonymous with the unrivalled magic of the cinema experience, by providing 'Great Moments at Their Greatest'. During 2013, the company embarked on a massive roll-out project to convert and equip every cinema with the very latest in digital projection and sound technology. The result of this upgrade is that every cinema now boasts state-of-the-art cinema technology that encompasses 2K and 4K digital projection and 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems.
The award-winning SK App, which is downloadable on all smart phone operating systems, is interactive, user-friendly and feature-rich, and recently recorded its 1.5-millionth download. The new-look SK Club loyalty programme rewards members with redeemable points when they swipe their card when buying movie tickets or catering. Combined with industry leading loyalty programmes from Edcon and Discovery Vitality, these give Ster-Kinekor a strong consumer value proposition and competitive advantage.

As the market leader, Ster-Kinekor aims to spearhead the advancement of cinema across both South Africa and the rest of Africa, to ensure that consumers continue to experience movies as they were made to be seen – on the big screen.
See more at: www.sterkinekor.com

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 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.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of March 31, 2014, there were 840 IMAX theatres (707 commercial multiplexes, 18 commercial destinations and 115 institutions) in 57 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX nXos® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

For additional information please contact:

Investors:

IMAX Corporation, New York

Teri Loxam

212-821-0100

tloxam@imax.com

Business Media:

Sloane & Company, New York

Whit Clay

212-446-1864

wclay@sloanepr.com

Media:

IMAX Corporation, New York