Paramount, Kodak reach digital cinema deal

The main gate to Paramount Pictures Studios, a division of Viacom, Inc. is pictured in Los Angeles, California, July 29, 2008.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures said on Wednesday it reached a deal with Eastman Kodak Co to finance the deployment of cinema technology in movie theaters.

Earlier, Paramount and four other big studios reached a deal with the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP), comprised of Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc and AMC Entertainment Inc, to upgrade 20,000 U.S. and Canadian cinema screens.

Paramount's Kodak agreement provides digital upgrades to theaters not covered under the DCIP. Under this deal, Paramount will pay a virtual print fee, estimated at about $1,000 per movie, every time one of its films plays on Kodak systems.

Paramount said it was the first studio to sign with Kodak.

With today's agreements, Paramount has signed a total of seven digital cinema integration deals.

(Reporting by Sue Zeidler; Editing by Andre Grenon)