RealD is Going Large Format with LUXE: A RealD Experience

At CineEurope, RealD today announced “LUXE: A RealD Experience” for large format theaters. Here’s the full press release:

At a special presentation to European cinema exhibitors at CineEurope, RealD Inc. (RLD) today introduced “LUXE: A RealD Experience,” a premium large format (PLF) initiative aimed at unifying the exhibition community under a single brand with a goal of becoming synonymous with the ultimate out of home entertainment experience. Minimum standards will assure all “LUXE: A RealD Experience” auditoriums feature massive screens, ultra bright 2D and 3D, enveloping audio and luxury seating for a premium movie-going experience. “LUXE: A RealD Experience” auditoriums will provide full flexibility with content, allowing exhibitors to show any movie at any time for optimized profitability.

“Disparate premium large format brands have limited the potential of today’s high-end cinema offerings,” said Joseph Peixoto, President, Worldwide Cinema at RealD. “With an alphabet soup of brands and differing amenities in each auditorium, moviegoers have been left unable to truly equate their PLF experience with a single offering. ‘LUXE: A RealD Experience’ intends to solve this puzzle by unifying the exhibition community under one brand with one set of industry leading technology standards for an exceptional entertainment experience moviegoers will seek out for years to come.”

“LUXE: A RealD Experience” auditoriums are expected to launch this winter beginning in Europe and will include the rebranding of existing PLF locations as well as new auditoriums upgraded to minimum technology specifications. Exclusively available to RealD licensees, the “LUXE: A RealD Experience” brand is projected to expand into other territories around the world thereafter. Additional details on participating exhibitors and availability are to be announced.

“The studio and exhibition communities have long called for a PLF unification strategy to best capitalize on the profit potential of this fast growing premium cinema segment,” said Robert Mayson, Managing Director of RealD Europe. “RealD is uniquely positioned at the intersection of content, exhibition and technology, allowing us to best serve the industry and moviegoers alike with a singular premium cinema experience we believe will become synonymous with out of home entertainment at its finest.”

Paul Heth, CEO of Karo Film, who anticipates installing multiple “LUXE: A RealD Experience” auditoriums across his circuit added, “One of the first major changes I made after acquiring Karo Film, one of Russia’s leading cinema circuits, was to greatly upgrade our 3D technology by using only RealD for our 3D screenings. Audiences that are paying premium prices deserve a premium experience. We are investing substantial resources and capital to ensure our millions of patrons have the very best movie-going experience. For Karo Film’s larger state-of-the-art auditoriums we plan to use ‘LUXE: A RealD Experience’ to even further segment and improve our 2D and 3D premium offering. This initiative from our company and RealD is important because we have the chance to present a unique, quality experience under a global brand and be able to program those screens as we need. Having a universal standard coupled with our market leading cinemas will be the quality assurance consumers need to know they are experiencing a true luxury cinema experience.”

All “LUXE: A RealD Experience” auditoriums will meet minimum technology specifications to assure a premium cinema experience, such as: usage of RealD 3D, the industry’s brightest 3D projection technology; wall-to-wall / floor-to-ceiling screens of at least 16 meters in width; 3D sound; auditorium rakes to optimize patron’s views and more. Additional exclusive new technologies to be announced are expected to be incorporated into “LUXE: A RealD Experience” auditoriums.

Stefan Minchev, CEO of Arena Cinema, added “Arena adopted RealD during 2012 as our 3D technology of choice. We have been delighted with the premium quality of our offering and our customers echo that. We have been looking for a brand to promote our new Premium Large Format screens. We plan to use ‘LUXE: A RealD Experience’ initially in 7 of our largest auditoriums and then expect to add another 6 screens as they open over the next year or so. Having the power of a global brand is very exciting to us here in Bulgaria.”

Motion picture studios have helped drive the “LUXE: A RealD Experience” unification strategy as the singular platform to best drive moviegoers to a more profitable large format offering where moviegoers can be assured of an entertainment experience that delivers the true intent of the filmmaker. Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation CEO said, “RealD is a great partner dedicated to delivering the highest quality movie-going experience to consumers and to that end we are wholly supportive of their new ‘LUXE: A RealD Experience’ premium large format brand.”

“With premium large format box office figures growing double digits year on year, it’s clear that a greater number of moviegoers are demanding a premium cinema experience. RealD’s new initiative, ‘LUXE: A RealD Experience,’ delivers the ever increasing quality expected in the evolving PLF market for premium viewing of 2D and 3D content alike,” said Anthony Marcoly, President, Paramount Pictures International.

RealD is the world’s most widely used 3D cinema technology with approximately 22,700 screens equipped with RealD 3D by approximately 1,000 exhibitors in 68 countries around the world (as of March 31, 2013).

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