PROVIDENCE – National Amusements, owner of Providence Place Cinemas 16, has purchased the adjacent Feinstein IMAX Theatre from IMAX Corp. as of Dec. 31, the companies announced today. Full financial terms were not disclosed, but the companies did say IMAX Corp. will continue to receive a percentage of box-office receipts from the theater.
The purchase will enable National Amusements to show more first-run films – such as “I Am Legend,” which opens tomorrow – that have been formatted for IMAX screens, the company said. The hope is that showing more first-run films will generate more box-office traffic, as has proven true at National Amusements’ nine other IMAX theaters in North America, South America and Europe.
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“IMAX theaters are becoming an increasingly important component of today’s modern multiplex, and nothing underscores this more than when the world’s top exhibitors increase the number of IMAX screens they operate,” IMAX Corp. co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler said in a statement today. “This theater will now play day-and-date Hollywood releases, which should enhance its gross box office results.”
Under the terms announced today, such an increase in ticket sales would benefit IMAX, as well.
The acquisition is part of National Amusements new strategy of creating “community entertainment destinations” that include a variety of entertainment alternatives, such as live, high-definition sports broadcasting and interactive gaming areas.
“Including IMAX theaters is part of this strategy … particularly since the movie industry is offering more and more large-format film options,” said Wanda Whitson, a company spokeswoman.
She said National Amusements also is looking forward to continuing the theater’s relationship with Alan Shawn Feinstein – the local philanthropist after whom the theater is named – by continuing to offer IMAX tickets to Rhode Island students for free or at a reduced cost.
The Feinstein IMAX Theatre is located on the upper level of Providence Place mall. Additional information is available at www.imax.com/providence.
