Kinepolis launches surround cinema viewing

Belgian cinema chain Kinepolis has launched a new type of cinema, opening this week in Antwerp and Brussels. Barco Escape, a joint venture with the Kortrijk-based digital imaging company Barco, combines three projectors with three screens, one directly in front and two angled to the sides, offering an immersive, panoramic view (pictured).

The first Barco Escape film is the sci-fi drama The Maze Runner by American director Wes Ball about a group of boys trapped in a giant maze who have to join forces to try to escape. “This movie is perfect for Barco Escape: Thanks to the new format, the audience feels pulled into the maze at key moments of the film, just like the boys in the story,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The movie has already been in five Barco Escape cinemas in the US since September; it premiered in Antwerp at the weekend and comes to Brussels on Wednesday. In time, Barco hopes to be able to fit one cinema in each Kinepolis centre with Escape screens.

Kinepolis and Barco have a history of sharing new technologies, from 3D digital cinema in 2007 to Barco’s laser-illuminated projectors, unveiled this year. “Barco and Kinepolis share a common drive to regularly offer experiences that take cinema to new heights,” said Wim Buyens, senior vice president for entertainment at Barco. “We are happy to be premiering Barco Escape here in Europe with this long-term customer, or rather partner.”

photo courtesy Barco