Giant mall Shoemart (SM) capitalized on Cebu’s robust retail industry as it introduces of the first IMAX Theater in the Visayas.

As part of its thrust to provide value-added entertainment for moviegoers, SM City Cebu is renovating its Cinema 4 to convert it into an IMAX Theater with a sitting capacity of 400.

‘It will be an added attraction for the mall and an exciting development for those who wish for an IMAX experience,’ said SM City-Cebu Mall Manager Sherry Tuvilla.

IMAX, short for Image Maximum, is a film format created by Canada’s IMAX Corp. It has the capacity to display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film display systems A standard IMAX screen is 22 meters wide and 16.1 meters high, but it can be larger.

“The IMAX in Cebu will have a different setup from that of ordinary cinema houses. It will be a stadium-typed theater with taller and wider screens,�? she said. Tuvilla said that the facility, which is targeted to open in November, this year, will feature the IMAXDigital, the second to be launched by SM.

Recently, SM Leisure Inc. opened IMAX D-Cinema, the first clarity and digitalized cinema in the country, at SM North EDSA in Quezon City. To create a bigger impact for the scheduled opening of the The IMAX-D at SM City Cebu, Tuvilla said, the mall management is looking forward to feature the screening of the upcoming premier of the latest Harry Potter movie as the pilot movie.