CJ 4DPLEX Continues Euro Expansion With Switzerland’s Kitag Cinemas; INTV Conference Sets Speakers – Global Briefs

As it continues European expansion, Korea-headquartered CJ 4DPLEX has partnered with Switzerland’s Kitag Cinemas for a 4DX auditorium in Zurich. Kitag is the largest exhibitor in the country’s German-speaking region with 85 screens and 17,000 seats in such cities as Basel, Bern, Biel, Lucerne and Zurich. Its new 4DX auditorium is scheduled to open before the end of the year at the Abaton multiplex. The new partnership comes as CJ’s 4DX immersive format has grown in Europe, enhancing onscreen visuals of action-packed films through motion-activated seats and special effects including wind, fog, rain, lighting, vibrations and scents. In 2017 so far, new theaters have opened in Hungary, Norway, France, Turkey, the UK, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland. As of November, more than 8,000 4DX seats have been installed at 62 screens in 17 European countries. In Europe, the Top 5 movies released in 4DX this year generated an occupancy rate of 4% higher than the global average during opening week. Two sites opened in 2017, one with Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé in Paris, and the other with Nordisk Film Cinemas in Oslo, have hit an average occupancy rate of over 60% since March. In all as of this month, there are more than 52K 4DX seats in 426 auditoriums across 50 countries. This past weekend, Justice League’s occupancy rates included 94% in Norway, 80% in the Philippines, 56% in Kuwait and 45% in Mexico.

The 5th edition of Keshet Media Group’s Innovative TV Conference has been set for March 12-13, 2018 in Jerusalem. Organizers today announced the roster of speakers thus far confirmed for the two days of discussions which routinely welcome leading execs from around the world. Participating this year are such folks as Fox Television Group Chairman-CEO Gary Newman; Showtime President-CEO David Nevins; HBO Programming President Casey Bloys; TBS and TNT President & Turner Entertainment CCO Kevin Reilly; CBS News President David Rhodes; eOne CEO Darren Throop; Hulu CCO Joel Stillerman; The Mark Gordon Company CEO Mark Gordon; and WME TV Head Rick Rosen. Also headed to Israel in March are HBO Co-Heads of Drama Programming David Levine and Francesca Orsi; Rai Fiction Director Eleonora Andreatta; TF1 France Drama Head Marie Guillaumond; The Crown producers Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries, and director, Benjamin Caron. Panel discussions will focus on developments and trends across TV, film, digital and tech.