Reliance ADAG's Big Cinemas, the exhibition division of Adlabs Films Limited, hsas announced the opening its first Big Cinemas branded cinema property in the US with a 5-screen multiplex and a premium lounge.

Big Cinemas has a presence in the US with 170 screens and contributes 25 per cent of the box office for Hindi films and over 65 per cent for Tamil and Telugu films released in the US.

The company said in a press releae that the multiplex will be digitally connected to Adlabs India, enabling the films to be transported on fibre optic cables within 4-6 hours making the physical film prints usage history.

The company said in a press relasee, that the multiplex, called Big Cinemas-Golf Glen in Niles in Chicago, multiplex has seating for 950 along with the 60-seater premium lounge, with top-of-the-line, high-end seats spread across 26,549 sq. feet.

The multiplex will screen a mix of Hollywood, Indian, Polish and Korean films and will have stadium seating to enable live telecasts of cricket matches and other events.

In adition the multiplex will have a fully equipped kitchen serving South Asian cuisine and bar, which will be managed by one of Chicago's top award winning restaurants – India House.

Commenting on this, Anil Arjun, CEO, Adlabs Films says, ''The Chicago launch is in keeping with our vision to establish a strong foothold for Big Cinemas worldwide in markets which have an appetite for Indian cinema. This multiplex at Niles, Chicago is part of BIG Cinema's strategy to actively promote and ensure better reach of Indian movies.''

Over 1,000 special guests are expected to attend the launch on May 29th. . From time to time this multiplex will also screen Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi and Punjabi films.

Adlabs Films, India's largest multiplex chain with 430 screens spread across India, US and Malaysia, had recently announced the launch of its media BPO services, which, the company says, will be one of the world's largest comprehensive digital restoration and content processing services facilities.

Spread over 90,000 sq ft, it will employ 1,200 employees within a year and will comply with MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) standards, the company says.

The BPO is aimed at providing a comprehensive one point solution for the transition from analog to digital and physical media to digital data. The company added that its BPO had recently obtained an order for digitisation and digital restoration of 1,000 films preserved by the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune.