DALIAN, China & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wanda Cinema Line Corporation Ltd. and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) today announced the first theatres with Dolby Cinema™ in Asia at Wanda cinemas in Dalian, Changchun, Chongqing, and Jinan. Dolby Cinema, featuring Dolby Vision™ and Dolby Atmos®, is a premium cinema offering for exhibitors and moviegoers that combines spectacular image and sound technologies with inspired design to make every visit a completely captivating cinematic event.
“We are transforming the movie experience in China with Wanda,” said Doug Darrow, Senior Vice President, Cinema Business Group, Dolby Laboratories. “With powerful image and sound technologies and unique design, Dolby Cinema is one of the best places to see a movie. We look forward to captivating audiences in China who seek the very best quality in entertainment and to bringing Dolby Cinema to more cities with Wanda Cinema Line.”
On June 23, the grand opening of Asia’s first Dolby Cinema sites at Wanda Cinema Line was held at Wanda Cinema’s Dalian Kaide Heping Square site, attended by hundreds of guests, including filmmakers, media, movie enthusiasts, and Warcraft fans.
“Wanda Cinema Line, as a leader and advocate of the latest cinema technologies in Asia and even around the world, is committed to providing premium moviegoing experiences and services to our audiences,” said John Zeng, President, Wanda Cinema Line. “Dolby Cinema is a complete experience. We are glad that, as the largest exhibitor in Asia, we can be the first to bring this experience to audiences.”
In January 2016, Wanda Cinema Line and Dolby announced an agreement to open 100 Dolby Cinema locations in China over the next five years. Following the opening of the first four sites, Wanda Cinema Line plans to expand the number of operating Dolby Cinema sites in China to 10 by December 2016. Additional cities slated for Dolby Cinema include Beijing and Chengdu.
Legendary/Universal Pictures’ Warcraft is the first Dolby Cinema movie title released in China. In addition, Disney•Pixar’s Finding Dory (China release date: June 17, 2016), Twentieth Century Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence (China release date: June 24, 2016), Paramount Pictures’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (China release date: July 2, 2016), and Warner Bros.’ The Legend of Tarzan (China release date: July 19, 2016) are confirmed to be released in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for Dolby Cinema in China, with more titles coming soon.
“Dolby Cinema gives artists the ability to fully capture and share their vision with audiences,” said Peter Loehr, CEO, Legendary East. “Warcraft is a prime example of the power and sophistication of Dolby Cinema. We are thrilled to bring this experience to audiences in China so they can enjoy the experience of being inside the story of Warcraft, living and fighting with the characters on screen.”
“Warcraft is a movie produced by Legendary Pictures and acquired by Wanda, and is the first Dolby Cinema title released in Asia. This shows that Wanda is not only collaborating with Dolby on the exhibition side, but also looks forward to more collaborations in movie production, so as to provide audiences with an unprecedented experience combining Wanda’s premium movie content with Dolby’s leading technologies in sight and sound,” John Zeng added.
Dolby Cinema features the Dolby Vision laser projection system, which uses state-of-the-art optics and image processing to deliver high dynamic range with enhanced color technology and a contrast ratio that far exceeds that of any other image technology on the market today. The result is a richer, more detailed viewing experience that delivers strikingly vivid and realistic images and makes viewers feel like they are in the movie’s world.
Dolby Cinema also includes Dolby Atmos sound technology, which moves audio around the theatre, even overhead, with amazing richness and depth. The combination of Dolby® technologies with the design and comfort of the Dolby Cinema makes audiences feel closer to the onscreen action.
Since its launch in April 2015, more than 200 Dolby Cinema sites have been installed or committed to across the globe, with 26 Dolby Cinema sites currently in operation.
About Wanda Cinema Line
Established in 2005, Wanda Cinema Line Corporation Limited is a subsidiary of Wanda Group. As of May 31, 2016, Wanda Cinemas was operating 311 theatres in over 110 cities in China as well as major cities in Australia and New Zealand, with 2,700 total screens. Wanda Cinemas accounted for approximately 14% of China’s market share in terms of box office revenue, ranking no. 1 in the China market seven consecutive years. In 2015, Wanda Cinemas grossed 6.3 billion yuan in box office revenue.
With “prioritizing audience value and their moviegoing experience” as its business philosophy, over the years, Wanda Cinema Line strives to provide high-standard design and construction, high-class exhibition technologies, and high-quality standardized services, offering the cinema environment of choice for more than 60 million Wanda fan club members. In 2015, Wanda Cinema Line officially announced its “membership+” strategy, aiming at building a world-leading cinema lifestyle ecosystem, marking its transformation from a cinema chain to a technology, platform, and ecosystem-based company.
For more information, please visit www.wandacinemas.com.
About Dolby Cinema
Dolby Cinema, recipient of the 2015 Red Dot Award for product design, delivers the total cinema experience. It combines powerful image and sound technologies with inspired cinema design to make every visit a completely captivating cinematic event.
Dolby Cinema includes award-winning Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos technologies. Dolby Vision is a state-of-the-art authoring and playback imaging technology that enables the cinema to bring the story alive onscreen. In 2015, the Dolby Vision laser projector received an engineering excellence award from the Hollywood Post Alliance. Outfitted with Dolby Atmos, a Dolby Cinema transports audiences into the movie with breathtakingly real sound that fills the cinema and flows all around them. Dolby Atmos has received technical achievement awards from both the Hollywood Post Alliance and the Cinema Audio Society.
When these technologies are combined with the sophisticated Dolby Cinema design, everything comes together to pull moviegoers more deeply into the story and transform their visit into an event. In just over a year, more than 200 Dolby Cinema sites have been installed or committed to across the globe, with 41 titles released or announced.
For more information, please visit the Dolby Cinema web page.
About Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB) creates audio, video, and voice technologies that transform entertainment and communications in mobile devices, at the cinema, at home, and at work. For more than 50 years, sight and sound experiences have become more vibrant, clear, and powerful in Dolby. For more information, please visit www.dolby.com.
Dolby, Dolby Atmos, and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Dolby Cinema and Dolby Vision are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. DLB-G
