Top movie theater circuit AMC Entertainment plans to add 40 new Dolby Cinema auditoriums to its U.S. footprint by 2027.

The new sites are the expected result of a partnership extension announced Monday as CinemaCon gets under way in Las Vegas. The expansion follows news earlier this month that AMC plans to add ScreenX and 4DX theaters to its U.S. portfolio for the first time. Dolby Cinema combines immersive Dolby Atmos sound with ultra-premium picture quality.

The new builds will bring AMC’s total Dolby count to 200 screens, with the 40 new ones representing a 25% increase over current levels.

Exhibitors and their partners are increasingly investing in specialized and large-format forms of moviegoing, which have been over-indexing at the box office. Imax, a longtime AMC partner, had a banner 2024 even at a time when theatrical grosses overall skidded due to the 2023 strikes, competition from streaming, release window shifts and other factors. Dolby Cinema, similarly, recorded its best-ever grosses last year, breaking the previous mark set in 2023.

“Premium moviegoing is defining the modern box office,” said Kevin Yeaman, President and CEO, Dolby Laboratories. “In expanding our longstanding partnership with AMC, we look forward to providing even more audiences with access to the most immersive film experiences that you can only get at Dolby Cinema.”

“For a decade, AMC and Dolby have provided moviegoers with incredible premium experiences – making the biggest blockbusters even bigger, brighter, louder, and more immersive,” said Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC Entertainment. “The expansion of this partnership is a powerful demonstration of AMC’s ongoing commitment to deliver this premium experience – sought out by filmmakers, studio partners, and our guests – to even more of our theaters and AMC moviegoers around the United States.”