The historic beauty of Paris' most famous boulevard is posing a problem for Canadian cinema company Imax Corp.
On the hunt for a new site in central Paris to host glitzy European film premieres, Imax is finding that theaters along the Champs-Elysees, its ideal location, are just too old for its large-format screens, said Andrew Cripps, head of Imax's European, Middle Eastern and African operations.
"We've looked at all of them, and there's just not enough height or enough room to do it properly," Cripps said in a phone interview. "You can't put a small Imax screen on the Champs-Elysees. It has to be something that is a showcase."
Imax, which manufactures large-format movie projection systems and digitally remasters films for its curved, extra-big screens, reported record second-quarter sales of $107.2 million, fueled by summer blockbusters such as Jurassic World and Furious 7. The Mississauga, Ontario-based company has expanded its European network by about 50 percent in the last three years to 129 commercial theaters.