A pioneer in Hungary, Cinema City International and its offshoot, I.T. Magyar Cinema Kft. is on the verge of opening their 8th IMAX theatre in the Eastern European region, with previous installments in Poland (Warsaw, Katovice, Poznan, Krakow and Lodz), Sofia, Bulgaria, and Prague, Chech Republic. An exclusive owner of the IMAX rights in the area, the company that has a ten-year history in Hungary will make an addition to cinema on the 16th of January, 2008, in this country so small it will likely have only one IMAX theater for years to come.

As part of a huge mall built in place of an old racecourse, Cinema City made the hard decision to skip the Christmas boom, and take their time to finish the theatre in the highest possible quality. At the screen insertion event in November it was evident that there is much ahead construction-wise. The huge scale of the IMAX theatre, and the silver screen worth a 115.000 USD covering the seats like a blanket was breathtaking nevertheless.

Operative director of Polish IT Cinema, Rafal Rybski, spoke about IMAX theatres in general. The US, a flagship in this division, gives place to 120 of the total 250 IMAX theatres. Five to nine thousand 3D screens are estimated by 2009 in North America alone. This includes RealD and other screens in addition to IMAX 3D. Hell of a scene for James Cameron's Avatar coming out that year, to name just one movie.

Neil Robbins, the technical expert and construction leader from IMAX went into the details. The technical features of such a theatre are as big as the screen itself. The Budapest IMAX was built with digital IMAX in mind, but until that technology spreads, it will be the peak amongst theatres with IMAX 3D. A 70 mm film projector, a 6.1 sound system, with a total power of 12.000 Watts, Bryson amplifiers, threeway electronic crossover speakers behind the movie screen itself and in the rear two corners, sound stored on separate hard disks, synchronized with the film are just a few bits.

The company has built the largest multiplex in Hungary, attached to the IMAX theatre. The technical details of the regular screens are not to be ashamed of either. The 35 mm projectors come with a 5.1 Dolby Digital sound system, C.P. 650 sound processors, QCS amplifiers, with JBL 3678 main loudspeakers and JBL 4840 surround loudspeakers.

Also from an earlier interview with Andrea Buda, Marketing and PR Director of I.T. Magyar Cinema Kft. we've received some statistics. Cinema City International's single IMAX in Prague had 2 million viewers in the first 5 years, while in Poland, Polar Express 3D grossed 48 percent of the country's box office with only 5 percent of the total release prints nationwide.

When this IMAX opens, we'll see how its first audience reacts. The completed theatre will be examined, as well as European IMAX productions, and 3D in general.

This is an impressive effort to improve the movie experience - to entertain audiences in a grand exhibition hall.