Robert Copple
Analyst · B. Riley.
Eric, I think we haven't really run down or provided data comparing IMAX and XD. IMAX continues to be a very premium format that does very, very well. When we look at our XD screens and we're playing the same product, we think they perform extremely well and it's a theater-by-theater, really, comparison. We have some theaters that will outperform some of our IMAXs, some IMAXs outperform some of our XDs depending on the film. But again, I mean that is to say, IMAX just has a great product, they have great background in marketing. And so we very much like our IMAX screens. The reason we're emphasizing the flexibility is it really is something we can control. If we look at what happens, especially say this quarter and I can take the cumulative results of an XD versus IMAX screen, we think it reflects a benefit of the concept that we put together because we are able to just push -- select the films that we push through there. We are able to rotate them fairly quickly and so that really maximizes utilization at that higher end screen. As far as what we have learned? We are still, interesting enough, experimenting on them. We have some theaters that we've actually put 2 XDs into and we're seeing how that works. We're looking at different markets that we're putting them as we're finishing out our largest market and trying to determine as we go to smaller markets how well they performed in those markets. So there's still some things that we have to learn as far as what we can do. But I think that the key to it is we found that just the upcharge itself that we do on those and the attendance, using just straight attendance, gets the returns that we've been after and we also feel that, realistically, it enhances the theater experience at that theater and is actually drawing more people, overall, into the theater. So we know it's a been a great return. But we also want to keep a certain, if I'm going to call it, quality standard in terms of size and presentation, and that itself we think, ultimately, limit -- put some of it out of how many of these in theaters. And again, we think by the end of this year, we'll usually be over 100. We'll continue to put them in all of our new builds and then probably slow down a little bit of our conversions. But considering our new build slate, that number will continue to grow. We also think it's great advantage in Latin America because we are the most prominent, I think, brand down there and by having this particular concept, this bigger concept, it really makes us that much stronger.