IMAX, which has to date concentrated on supplying the out-of-home leisure industries, has announced it will launch a high-end home cinema product for wealthy Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern consumers by 2015, the system will have a price tag of CA$250,000 and will enable viewers to watch IMAX-enhanced films.

The deal is a 50:50 joint venture with TCL Multimedia Technology which is based in Shenzhen, China. CEO Richard Gelfond said "China now is IMAX’s second largest and fastest growing market. We spend a lot of time concentrating on the Chinese market."

IMAX already earns 16 per cent of its revenues in China, where it has 131 screens. In July this year it signed a deal with Dalian Wanda Group to build up to 120 additional theaters in China, raising the number of screens to around 400, with Wanda running half.

China especially is ripe for this development. According to Capgemini, the number of Chinese millionaires rose by 14 per cent in 2012 to 643,000 and the country is home to the fourth largest number of high net-worth individuals globally.

Earlier this year, IMAX also announced it would produce a limited number of complete upscale home cinemas with a price tag of US$2m.

The first two installations of the US$2m system are expected to be completed over the next six months, with half a dozen more by 2013 and 10 to 15 per year after 2014, IMAX coordinates the installation with architects, contractors and interior designers.

Home cinema is a new departure for the company and the decision to launch these two new products has been driven by the fact that the home cinema sector is forecast to grow by between 15 and 20 per cent in the next five years.

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