ICE Theaters Expands International Footprint
Ben Croll An evangelist for the premium format, France’s CGR Cinemas has forged a growing number of international partnerships since the exhibition chain began exporting its proprietary Immersive Cinema Experience (ICE) model in 2017. At the start of this year, CGR – through its export arm ICE Theaters – had already opened premium rooms in Barcelona, Los Angeles, New Dehli and Jeddah, among others; by December, the premium format will win over new converts in Colombia, Ecuador, Thailand and Estonia, with even more to come. As part of its strategy, ICE Theaters teams with local distributors and top exhibition chains, lending “legitimacy” to a still-young brand, designed in-house, that outfits a row of LED panels on both sides of an auditorium and fills them with bespoke visuals extending the action onscreen (“It’s like surround sound but for light,” is how an ICE exec describes it).