posted 08-11-2005 01:40 PM                    

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Imax format a big hit for commercial films

By Dan Zak
The Washington Post
Posted August 3 2005

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There was a time when we went to Imax theaters for whales and rockets. That was when the big big screen was for shorter educational films about the deep sea, outer space and wild kingdoms -- movies shot on big Imax film with big Imax cameras.

Now we go to Imax for eccentric candymen and superheroes with bat complexes. And we're going more often.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was No.1 at the box office in its opening weekend last month with a $56.1 million take, $2.2 million of which was made on 65 Imax screens. It was Imax's biggest opening weekend ever, besting the debuts of Batman Begins and last winter's The Polar Express, which eventually grossed a record-breaking $45million on 83 Imax screens.

When Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire opens in November, it will be the year's fourth Hollywood feature to open simultaneously in Imax and regular 35mm theaters. There were three such releases last year (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spider-Man2 and The Polar Express) and two the year before that (the final legs of The Matrix trilogy). Next year there will be six, maybe more.

Imax's corporate strategy is to entice Americans happiest in front of a 60-inch plasma-screen TV, wrapped in the fuzzy warmth of a Netflix plan.

"Consumers are saying, `In order to get me out of the home, you need to wow me, you need to give me something special,'" says Rich Gelfond, co-chairman and co-CEO of Imax.

"[Imax] helps `eventize' our big movies," says Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio behind half of the feature film releases on Imax. "And we will continue to release our big films that way." Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Columbia and Disney have also released features in Imax.

The regular box office is still down 7.5 percent, but Imax is up 37 percent, according to Greg Foster, Imax's co-chairman and president of filmed entertainment. Charlie made double on its Imax screens what it did on regular screens. At Fort Lauderdale's Blockbuster Imax Theater in the Museum of Discovery and Science, Charlie sold out 25 shows in its first six days.

Not everyone is sold. "Our experience at Fox is still under review," says Julian Levin, vice president of digital exhibition and non-theatrical sales and distribution at Fox, which released Robots this year on Imax. "Other than the sort of unique bump with Polar Express, the performance of the other pictures really haven't shown to be that incredibly remarkable."

The folks at Imax compare their brand to Starbucks for coffee or Tiffany for jewelry, in that people will pay a premium price for an amplified, high-quality experience -- in this case, gargantuan, crystal-clear images and booming, 12,000-watt sound. Seventy-five screens are slated to open in the next few years toward the eventual goal of 1,000 locations worldwide, according to Imax.

The world's largest Imax screen is the 97-by-117-foot Panasonic Theatre in Sydney, Australia. The Imax film frame area is three times that of the standard 70mm frame, and 10 times the 35mm frame.

Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan saw some of his dailies on an Imax screen in London and found it "astounding."

"It takes you right back to the scale of movies that you felt when you were a little kid in some large movie palace. And for me, that's what I'm striving for, to get back to the sense of scale in films," said Nolan.

Imax and some studio executives say it's a format reserved for tent-pole movies -- they need the buzz of a blockbuster to increase the odds that they'll recoup the high costs of the format.

Still, imagine an Imax reissue of Casablanca, and the feel of actually being in the smoky, arid sauna of Rick's Cafe Americain. Then, imagine Ingrid Bergman's glorious face 70 feet high as she turns to see Bogart for the first time since Paris.

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posted 08-11-2005 04:22 PM                       

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Not everyone is sold. "Our experience at Fox is still under review," says Julian Levin, vice president of digital exhibition and non-theatrical sales and distribution at Fox, which released Robots this year on Imax. "Other than the sort of unique bump with Polar Express, the performance of the other pictures really haven't shown to be that incredibly remarkable."

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I have a huge issue with this statement I don't know if anyone else does. How can somone say that 2.2 million dollars gross on as little as 65 screens not be remarkable? I bet if Fox released Starwars instead of Robots in IMAX they would be singing a different tune.

posted 08-11-2005 09:47 PM                    

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Theatres in the UK have to wait as with "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", there is only one print and is playing in Scotland!

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posted 08-14-2005 11:53 AM                    

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Not everyone is sold. "Our experience at Fox is still under review," says Julian Levin, vice president of digital exhibition and non-theatrical sales and distribution at Fox, which released Robots this year on Imax. "Other than the sort of unique bump with Polar Express, the performance of the other pictures really haven't shown to be that incredibly remarkable."

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quote: Dan Suomi

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I have a huge issue with this statement I don't know if anyone else does. How can somone say that 2.2 million dollars gross on as little as 65 screens not be remarkable? I bet if Fox released Starwars instead of Robots in IMAX they would be singing a different tune.

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Fox is probably on the fence with IMAX because I'm guessing they didn't think "Robots" performed very well. But what do you expect...they released it simultaneously in IMAX and D-Cinema (and, of course, conventional 35mm). In this instance, the grosses may have cannibalized one another.

"Attack Of The Clones: The IMAX Experience" performed well. It did $7-8 million in only 58 venues. At least that seems like a good performance to me, especially when one considers the number of bookings, the fact that the large format release took place about five months after the movie's release and was playing as it arrived on DVD. But I guess since it didn't pull in another $300 million in IMAX as it did the first go-round, then I guess it flopped in IMAX.

The studio exec quote seems in line with the corporate greed mentality that, unfortunately, exists today. They don't seem to care to put anything in context; only BIG numbers seem to matter. I think these studio bean counters are from another planet. I mean, these are the types who will make an estimate for a particular release and then if it happens to underperform they'll claim they lost money!

I've never put much stock in the quotes from the studio folks or, for that matter, those quote whores from the box office tracking companies and websites who like to dazzle the world with their bullshit insight into why a film performed as it did.

posted 08-16-2005 08:07 AM                    

quote: Michael Coate

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It did $7-8 million in only 58 venues.

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posted 08-16-2005 11:26 AM                    

quote: Michael Coate

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It did $7-8 million in only 58 venues.

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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I wouldn't be bragging about that total.

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At least that seems like a good performance to me, especially when one considers the [low] number of bookings, the fact that the large format release took place about five months after the movie's release and was playing as it arrived on DVD.

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posted 08-16-2005 11:50 AM                    

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IMAX Signs Exclusive Five-Year Agreement With Technicolor Resulting In Cost Savings for IMAX(R) Theatres

TORONTO, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq: IMAX - news; Toronto :IMX - news) today announced that it has reached an exclusive five-year service agreement with Technicolor, a Thomson multimedia business (Paris Euroclear: 18453; NYSE: TMS) which will enable IMAX® theatres to purchase film prints from IMAX at a significantly reduced cost.

Film prints have traditionally represented a significant part of an IMAX theatre's operating cost. This move should improve financial returns for IMAX theatre owners and is another important part of the Company's strategy. In addition, filmmakers using DKP/70MM Inc.'s post-production services will benefit from these newly negotiated IMAX rates.

"Improving financial returns for our customers in the IMAX theatre network is one of our top priorities and as such, we're pleased to be able to provide theatres with these significant savings," said IMAX co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "We believe that this agreement with Technicolor will have a positive impact on a theatre's bottom line and on the industry as a whole. Our relationship with Technicolor's affiliate CFI spans many years and we're happy to continue our association with them."

"We are pleased with our strategic partnership with IMAX and continue to be extremely optimistic about the future growth of this powerful film format," said Walter Schonfeld, president of Technicolor Content Services. The opportunities for CFI and Technicolor to provide industry-leading services are greatly enhanced by this new agreement with IMAX."

As part of this agreement, Technicolor, through its wholly owned subsidiary Consolidated Film Industries (CFI) will provide IMAX with a full suite of film laboratory services that will reduce the cost for IMAX film prints, representing increased operational savings for IMAX® theatres and filmmakers using IMAX's post-production facility.

For more than 75 years CFI has offered integrated film laboratory services to motion picture image makers and has received 13 Academy Awards for technical achievement. CFI caters to studios and the independent film community offering 16mm, 35mm, and 65mm film developing; 35mm and 70mm printing and restoration; digital film recording; telecine, and digital imaging. CFI is the world's leader in large format 65/70mm film processing.

Founded in 1967, IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment technology companies. IMAX's businesses include the world's best cinematic presentations together with IMAX, IMAX 3D and the development of the highest quality digital production and presentation. The IMAX brand is recognized throughout the world for extraordinary and immersive family experiences. As of September 2001, there were more than 220 IMAX theatres operating in 30 countries. More than 700 million people have seen an IMAX presentation since the medium premiered in 1970. IMAX Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on both the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges. IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation. More information on the Company can be found at http://www.imax.com.

About Technicolor

Technicolor is a Thomson multimedia (Paris Euroclear: 18453; NYSE: TMS) business within Digital Media Solutions, a Thomson division focused on giving content providers, broadcasters, network operators, and advertisers the digital building blocks required to deploy electronic entertainment services. Technicolor serves a worldwide client base through its Packaged Media Group, Film Group and Entertainment Services Divisions. Technicolor has evolved as the number one processor of motion picture film to become the world's largest independent manufacturer and distributor of DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, CD- Audio and Videocassettes. On an annualized basis, the production capacity is approximately 250 million DVDs, 500 million CDs and 800 million videocassettes.

With main offices in Camarillo, Calif., Technicolor serves an international base of entertainment and software customers with its facilities in the U.S, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia. Key Technicolor customers include Hollywood studios and game and software publishers, with major Hollywood clients including Disney, DreamWorks, New Line and Warner. Software publishers include Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Important factors that could effect these statements include the timing of theatre system deliveries, the mix of theatre systems shipped, the timing of the recognition of revenues and expenses on film production and distribution agreements, the viability of new businesses and fluctuations in foreign currency and in the large format and general commercial exhibition market. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and in the subsequent reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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posted 08-17-2005 01:15 AM                    

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TORONTO, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq: IMAX - news; Toronto :IMX - news) today announced that it has reached an exclusive five-year service agreement with Technicolor, a Thomson multimedia business (Paris Euroclear: 18453; NYSE: TMS) which will enable IMAX® theatres to purchase film prints from IMAX at a significantly reduced cost.

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