SPI Cinemas, a motion picture exhibitor in India, announced on Wednesday that it will install Dolby Atmos, the new sound system from Dolby Laboratories, in 37 screens across their theatres in Chennai and Coimbatore.

“SPI Cinemas has always been at the forefront of cinema technology and consequently was the first exhibitor in India to introduce Dolby Atmos at our flagship locations — Sathyam and Escape. The audience response to the first two Dolby Atmos screens has been very positive,” said Kiran Reddy, CEO, SPI Cinemas. All the screens of SPI Cinemas are expected to have Atmos sound by the end of the year.

The cost is expected to be around Rs 25-40 lakh per screen and can go up to Rs 80 lakh in the case of a large screen.

Sathyam Cinemas’ six screens, Escape Cinemas’ eight, Luxe’s 10 screens (all at Chennai), two screens in Coimbatore, a screen S2 (Tiruvanmiyur) and two screens of S2 (Perambur) would have Dolby Atmos. Currently, there are five screens equipped with Dolby Atmos in the country.

“Dolby Atmos is a major shift from traditional channel based surround sound. It provides a natural and lifelike audio experience in the theatre,” said Pankaj Kedia, country manager, Dolby Laboratories, India.

According to Dolby, more than 40 films around the world have been released or are scheduled to be released with Dolby Atmos sound. The first film was released in June 2012.