Hoyts brings Imax to Australia

Plan marks first international joint venture

By MICHAELA BOLAND

SYDNEY -- Imax Corp. and Oz exhib Hoyts will install Imax auditoriums in four key Hoyts plexes in a deal that will double Imax's footprint in Oz and mark its first international joint venture.

The two loops will share costs and profits from the new cinemas installed at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney, Highpoint in Melbourne and Carousel in Perth in time for the Dec. 11 release of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince."

A fourth auditorium will also be installed within a Hoyts cinema in Melbourne in 2009.

"Imax offers a cinematic experience people can't get at home or in a conventional cinema, and the Imax Digital projection system eliminates the need for film prints, which enables us to offer our customers a wider range of content," said Hoyts topper Delfin Fernandez.