Cinemas Weigh Launching New Large Screen Brand to Challenge Imax (2)

Some of the largest US theater chains, including Cinemark, Regal and Marcus, have held preliminary talks about jointly marketing their big-screen theaters to blunt the growing influence of Imax Corp. within the movie industry and the public, according to people familiar with the matter.

The talks so far have focused on setting shared standards for the chains’ “premium large-format” theaters to better compete with Imax’s giant screens, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The chains have a number of options, the people said. One is to unite around a new brand name for their ...