RealD inks deals with Russia's Karo Film and Kinomax

RealD has announced agreements with Karo Film and Kinomax, two of the largest cinema chains in Russia.

The deal with Karo Film will lead to up to 200 of its cinema screens being equipped with RealD 3D technology with installation already underway, while the deal with Kinomax will see up to 100 Kinomax cinema screens equipped with RealD 3D technology with the first nine screens installed and the remaining 91 to be installed by the end of the year.

“Having recently opened an office in Moscow, Russia is an increasingly important market for RealD and one we have targeted with ambitious plans for long-term growth. This agreement with Karo Film and Paul Heth meaningfully increases the number of screens committed to RealD 3D in the region while offering movie-goers at Karo Film locations a premium, bright and realistic visual experience that can deliver on the true promise of 3D cinema,” commented Michael V. Lewis [pictured], chairman and CEO of RealD.

“A key part of our investment in Karo Film is upgrading the movie-going experience by offering the industry’s brightest 3D presentation on both our standard and large format auditoriums. This agreement with RealD will give us the ability to equip screens of all sizes in all of our current locations with RealD 3D while allowing us to plan to offer RealD 3D in multiple new locations we expect to announce in the near future,” explained Heth, CEO of Karo Film. 

Robert Mayson, managing director, RealD Europe added: “Kinomax is a well-known and highly respected circuit in Russia and we look forward to working with them to equip their auditoriums with the industry’s brightest 3D.”

3D ticket sales in Russia increased by more than 200% between June 2010 and June 2012, according to IHS Screen Digest, with the entire Russian box office estimated to have grown 15% in 2012 to $1.3bn.

Karo Film currently operates 31 cinemas, comprising if 197 screens in Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara, Kazan, Kaliningrad and Surgut.

Kinomax currently operates more than 28 cinema locations with 149 auditoriums in more than 20 cities across Russia, including Moscow.

Globally, RealD is the world’s most widely used 3D cinema technology with approximately 22,200 screens equipped with RealD 3D by approximately 1,000 exhibitors in 68 countries around the world (as of Dec 31, 2012).