IMAX has VR centres in Los Angeles and London that are set to open at the end of this year or the beginning of 2017, and at least two pilot sites are planned for China, IMAX chief business development officer Robert Lister told the Post in an email.
The VR “pods”, which can accommodate about six people, will show short, interactive experiences.
“Chinese consumers appear to have a very significant appetite for virtual reality experiences and we expect China to be a crucial market for our VR centres,” Lister said, noting that VR wouldn’t replace traditional cinema.
“With China being IMAX’s fastest growing cinema markets [approximately 700 theatres open or set to be open in the market] we think it can be a very significant part of our global VR strategy,” he said.
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“Blockbusters matter,” he said. “It’s the lack of hot Chinese movies.”
Huang said IMAX’s fortunes next year depended on whether good Chinese movies were released.
“IMAX movies in general are like an arms race – you need the wow, the graphics, the technology. I think that’s why the Chinese movie hasn’t really been challenging US movies.”
See the full story here: http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2047935/blockbusters-and-virtual-reality-could-help-imax-china-turn-its