IMAX Corporation has signed a deal to open its 25ththeatre in China, which willmake the country IMAX's largest territory outside the US.

The IMAX theatre, set to open in December 2007, will beinstalled at the Suzhou Science and Cultural ArtCenter and is set to programme Hollywood event filmsand documentaries in both 2Dand IMAX 3D. Located just 45 minutes from Shanghai, Suzhou has apopulation of approximatelysix million people.

China has proved a rapidly expanding marketfor the Toronto-based IMAX. In 2002, when the company established itsheadquarters in Shanghai, there were just threeIMAX theatres operating in China.IMAX currently has 25 theatres scheduled to open there by 2008.

"The IMAX theatre network is expanding very rapidly in China and wecontinue to see heavy interest across the country - from commercial theatrechains, property developers and institutions," said IMAX co-CEOs andco-chairmen Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler."The IMAX brand is known and respectedworldwide, and we believe our IMAX theatre will be an important anchor for theworld class facility we're developing," added Du Jianhua, board chairman and general manager of Suzhou Science and Cultural Art Center Co., Ltd.

The deal marks the 50th IMAX signing in the past 12 months. As of March31, 2005, there were 250 IMAX theatres operating in more than 35 countries.