CJ CGV to open in L.A. in November

S. Korean chain sets up shop in Koreatown

By HAN SUNHEE

SEOUL -- South Korea's biggest multiplex chain will open its first subsidiary theater in Los Angeles' Koreatown in November.

The 648-seat, three-screen theater is being built at a site near Western Avenue.

CJ Entertainment's CJ CGV chain set up CJ CGV America Holdings at the end of 2006 to run its exhibition business in the U.S. The theater was skedded to bow last year, but the opening got postponed.

"We're going to increase our competitive power with a small but high-qualified boutique theater," said Park Yong-gil, prexy of CJ CGV America Holdings.

The company said 45% of its pics would be Korean, 45% from Hollywood and 10% from Asia at large.

It also will distribute movies from rival Korean distributors Showbox and Lotte Entertainment to enlarge the overall market share of Korean films Stateside.

CJ CGV America Holdings will open one or two more theaters in Southern California before expanding the chain to seven or eight major cities.

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