MUMBAI: PVR Ltd. (PVR Cinemas), India‘s leading cinema brand and operator of the country‘s top-performing multiplexes, has entered into an agreement to install an IMAX theatre system in Bangalore that is scheduled to open by March next year.

The deal follows an earlier agreement with PVR Cinemas announced in March last year for four IMAX theatres, bringing the exhibitor‘s total IMAX commitment to five. The deal also brings to 14 the total number of IMAX theatres open or contracted to open in India.

"Audiences across India are passionate about cinema and with IMAX‘s worldwide brand, more and more patrons want to experience films in the premium immersive format only IMAX can deliver," said PVR Chairman Ajay Bijli. "We view IMAX as a competitive advantage for our business and we are delighted to bring more audiences in Bangalore The IMAX Experience," he added.

Going by the terms of today‘s agreement, PVR Cinemas will install an IMAX theatre in a multiplex in Bangalore‘s Vega Mall - a new construction project that is slated to open by March 2013. The exhibitor also plans to open two of its previously contracted IMAX theatres in existing complexes in Bangalore and Mumbai this year, with the other two IMAX theatres set to go into new construction projects in the cities of Delhi and Noida that are slated to open in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond said, "We‘re excited to expand our partnership with PVR - now our second largest exhibitor in India. With a population of 1.2 billion, a growing middle-class and strong movie-going culture, India is a market poised for tremendous growth. We also believe that by the end of 2013, we will be in a position to begin offering IMAX versions of Bollywood titles, which account for 90 per cent of India‘s internal annual box-office receipts."