Some of the largest US theater chains, including Cinemark, Regal and Marcus, have held preliminary talks about jointly marketing their big-screen theaters to blunt the growing influence of Imax Corp. within the movie industry and the public, according to people familiar with the matter.
The talks so far have focused on setting shared standards for the chains’ “premium large-format” theaters to better compete with Imax’s giant screens, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The chains have a number of options, the people said. One is to unite around a new brand name for their premium format. Another would be to keep their premium brands and add an industrywide designation that would act a stamp of approval for their locations. It’s also possible they do nothing and maintain their current ties with Imax.
Some chains are alarmed by the growing presence of Imax in Hollywood advertising — including posters in their own lobbies that feature the brand as prominently as movie titles. Imax licenses its technology to theaters and has about 372 US locations — a fraction of the screens nationwide. Yet it consistently generates more than 10% of the box office for blockbusters.
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