IMAX at Scope Cinema. 

Pix by Waruna Wanniarachchi

“IMAX is a good reason why you have to come out from the comfort of your living room and watch a movie in a movie theatre,” says Preetham Daniel - Vice President – Theatre Development at IMAX who was in Colombo for the opening of the first-ever IMAX theatre in Sri Lanka. 

“You release a movie like a ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Joker’, you’re not going to sit in your house to watch that. IMAX is actually the answer for it because what we provide in an IMAX auditorium is not something you can replicate in your house. You cannot get a size of a screen that we can provide in an IMAX auditorium,” Daniel said at the opening of the IMAX Theatre at Scope Cinemas Multiplex – Havelock City.

According to Daniel, who is overseeing Asian and Pacific region, with countries like India, and South East Asia, Korea, Australia and New Zealand, there are more than 1700 IMAX theatres around the world. India has 44 IMAX theaters, 8 in Thailand with plans to open another five or six. Malaysia has 39 IMAX theaters, Indonesia has 17 operational with three more to be opened in the near future, and the Philippines has 8 with 10 more to be opened soon. “China, has about 800 IMAX screens and take countries like Vietnam, for example, which only in the city of Ho Chi Minh has 6 IMAX theaters, and there’s two more in Hanoi,” Daniel described.

“Even though IMAX represent around 1% of the total cinema industry, a movie like ‘Oppenheimer’, a global box office, IMAX alone with 1% theatres was able to collect about 20% of the global collection,” he said explaining the movie lovers’ attraction enjoy their love for cinema with the latest technology.

Daniel said that Sri Lanka’s IMAX screen has the best performing international standard which is equipped with a laser 4K system and 12 channel sound system. 

“We feel that there is a platform for that in Sri Lanka. Indian movies can play very well in Sri Lanka, especially the South Indian films like Tamil,” he stated.

Initiated by Scope Cinemas, a company which has been a trailblazer in the local cinema industry since 2017, the IMAX theatre is equipped with features such as  a next-gen laser projection system coupled with IMAX®️ Precision Sound for breath-taking audio. The theatre also provide comfortable chairs, with stadium-style seating for clear viewing at every seat. 

“All of this makes for the most immersive cinematic theatre experience in the world today. Giving Sri Lankans the opportunity to have a revolutionary cinematic experience is something we’re very passionate about. Thus, we have been working very hard to get ready for the IMAX launch and make sure everything is perfect,” said  Naveed Cader – Executive Chairman of Scope Cinemas.  

“We’re very excited to take things up a notch by partnering with IMAX to bring our customers a new, world-class, premium, large-format movie experience right here at home in Sri Lanka” the young Mr. Cader said explaining the importance of joining with IMAX. 

Speaking to the Daily Mirror Thushan Meemanage, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Scope Cinemas said the introduction of the state-of-the-art technology in cinema will help expand the movie market. 

“So this will also assist the local film industry, because when the market gets expanded, then they have more area to play with,” Meemanage said.  

“We always had an idea of having IMAX, but when our customers started speaking to us and responding to us through social media, they were asking about IMAX.  So we thought, it’s the right time for us to introduce this technology. We have taken a risk, and with that, I think we have no doubts, it’s going to be very successful, because with the response that we have seen, it’s a huge success,” asked about the introduction of IMAX to Sri Lanka Meemanage said. Few days ahead of the opening on July 26, the entire theatre was fully booked for ‘Top Gun’ film.

“Our IMAX®️ Theatre will be the crown jewel in our network, and we are proud to be able to bring this experience to Sri Lanka for the 1st time. From our inception, Scope Cinemas has aimed to set international standards in the country and provide unparalleled cinema experiences. This remains our vision, and bringing IMAX®️ to Sri Lanka is a landmark moment on that journey. We look forward to dazzling audiences with this amazing new entertainment technology.”