Putting its money where its mouth is, Cineplex Entertainment has announced that it will be building a new state-of-the-art 10-screen entertainment complex in Oshawa, ON. The 41,000-square-foot Cineplex Odeon Oshawa Cinema, slated to open later this year, will seat more than 2,200.

Pat Marshall, Cineplex VP communications and investor relations, says the new multiplex demonstrates the chain’s lack of concern over last year’s box office dip.

‘We’re very optimistic about the box office that’s coming in 2006, and we do not feel that [last year’s decline was caused by] anything more than the standard cyclical nature of the film product,’ she says. ‘We wouldn’t be in the process of opening five new theaters across the country if we weren’t.’

Cineplex’s expansion campaign is targeting underserved markets across Canada. It opened two new locations last year and this year is opening five more.