Korea’s major multiplex chains are leaning hard into premium large-format and special screening technology as a growth strategy for 2026, with Megabox reporting that special-format screening revenue roughly doubled year-over-year in 2025 — and Dolby Cinema attendance for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” reaching a 33.38% share of that film’s total audience by its fourth week in theaters, more than four times the Dolby Cinema attendance share the previous “Avatar” film drew.
CJ CGV, Korea’s largest multiplex operator, has outlined an aggressive premium-format expansion plan built around its 4DX and ScreenX proprietary technologies (through subsidiary 4DPLEX), targeting an expansion to roughly 2,000 special-format screens with a goal of growing that segment’s revenue sixfold by 2030 — treating premium formats not as a niche add-on but as the company’s primary growth engine going forward.
The premium-format push comes as CJ CGV projects a financial turnaround for 2026, with consolidated revenue expected to reach 2.3 trillion won (up 5% year-on-year) and operating profit forecast to jump 144% to 133.3 billion won, an operating margin of 5.7% — a notable rebound for a company that, like the rest of Korea’s theatrical exhibition sector, has faced years of pressure from streaming competition and shifting moviegoing habits since the pandemic.
The strategy reflects an industry-wide bet that experiential differentiation — technology and formats that cannot be replicated on a home television or streaming device — represents theatrical exhibition’s best remaining competitive advantage against an entertainment landscape where a growing share of content consumption has shifted permanently to streaming platforms.
Rival chain Lotte Cinema has pursued a parallel consolidation strategy, with a planned merger involving Megabox aimed at strengthening the combined entity’s positioning against CGV — though industry analysts note that raw screen count alone matters less than each chain’s ability to turn locations into genuine entertainment “destinations” rather than simple ticket-and-seat venues.
Source: Megabox and CJ CGV premium-format revenue and expansion plan coverage, Korean film-industry press, 2025-2026.
