3 min readNew DelhiDec 21, 2022 03:42 PM IST
First published on: Dec 17, 2022 at 11:09 AM IST
PVR Cinemas on Friday announced the opening of its premium ICE (Immersive Cinema Experience) Theatres in the NCR, with the second Avatar film, titled “Avatar: The Way of Water” now playing in these. There are two ICE Theatres opening for now – one based in Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi and the other at PVR Ambience Mall, Gurugram. ICE technology features five LED panels flanking either side of the auditorium to provide moviegoers with an immersive 270-degree vision.
Those additional panels don’t really display the actual movie, though. Instead, these are meant to give the illusion of a wider screen with colours and shapes from the movie bleeding from the main screen to them.
“ICE technology is to vision what Dolby Atmos is to hearing,” Renaud Palliere, CEO of The Luxury Collections at PVR Cinemas told indianexpress.com. Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology that expands on existing surround sound systems by adding extra height channels to provide a more enveloping audio experience.
“ICE theatres offer an experience that is impossible to replicate at home. The idle walls of the theatres are made alive through side panels that create peripheral background visuals that sync to the film thereby complementing it, not distracting away from it,” he added.
Further enhancing the cinema experience is 4K laser projection and 3D Dolby Atmos technology, complemented by custom-made 60cm-wide seats that allow moviegoers to sink into comfort as they watch the film.
Custom-made 60cm-wide seats allow moviegoers to sink into comfort as they watch the film (Image source: ICE Theatres)
Palliere also said that PVR plans to expand the ICE theatres’ presence to Juhu, Mumbai in around March 2023 and Pune in the next six months. Bengaluru is on the list as well.
He added that if the response is “good,” the presence can be further extended to include tier 2 cities as well. According to him, the goal of the partnership between PVR and ICE Theatres is to deploy 20 such halls in the next 5 years.
However, right now the prices are about 20 per cent higher than usual for movies in ICE Theatres, which is expected given this is a more premium-viewing experience.
Palliere also noted that the ICE Theatres will not be limited to Hollywood or English films, with a focus on showing Indian films as well. Rohit Shetty’s upcoming film — Circus — will be available to watch in ICE Theatres when it releases later this month, as will Pathan, which releases in January 2023.
(Image credits: ICE Theatres) 
Custom-made 60cm-wide seats allow moviegoers to sink into comfort as they watch the film (Image source: ICE Theatres)
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