IMAX Dominates 3D Box Office With Avatar

LOS ANGELES, Jan 19, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) and Twentieth Century Fox today announced that James Cameron's Avatar, which just received Golden Globe(R) awards for Best Picture and Best Director,continued to deliver strong box office results in IMAX(R) theatres during the four-day weekend from Friday, January 15 through Monday, January 18. The IMAX release grossed $9.6 million from 179 IMAX theatres domestically, representing 17.7% of the film's total domestic four-day weekend gross of $55 million on less than 2% of the screens. Internationally, the IMAX release grossed $5.6 million from 83 IMAX theatres, bringing the four-day weekend's global IMAX total to approximately $15.3 million and the film's overall IMAX global total to more than $116.4 million.

Avatar is directed and written by Academy Award Winner James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver. Avatar has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience(R).
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James Cameron "Avatar" Breaks Imax Box Office Records

"The worldwide IMAX network was operating at near full capacity throughout the entire weekend," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "This success is a testament to the groundbreaking work of James Cameron and his team, who have raised the bar for storytelling and truly transported us into another world."





LOS ANGELES — IMAX Corp. said Monday the film "Avatar" made $9.5 million in box office ticket sales during its opening weekend in 178 of its theaters in the U.S.

"Avatar," a science fiction thriller directed by James Cameron and released by News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, took in roughly 13 percent of the total sales in IMAX theaters, the company said. Total domestic sales came to $73 million.

The movie made another $4.1 million internationally on 58 screens, IMAX said. IMAX plans to release the film in 25 more locations in the next few weeks, including theaters in China and Japan.

"From the very beginning, James Cameron considered how the film would look and feel in IMAX, and as a result, Jim, Jon Landau and the Lightstorm team have produced a spectacular film that moviegoers are clearly reacting to with enthusiasm and strong word of mouth," added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Cameron's incredible vision and passion for pushing the technological boundaries of filmmaking, combined with a superb marketing and distribution campaign from Twentieth Century Fox has created an epic release that we are very proud to be a part of. We look forward to transporting more moviegoers to Pandora via The IMAX 3D Experience in the weeks ahead."

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than ten years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron's return to feature directing since helming 1997's Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars(R) including Best Picture. WETA Digital, renowned for its work in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and King Kong, will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.



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Avatar Imax 3D Tickets on Sale Now

Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology. With crystal clear images, laser-aligned digital sound and maximized field of view, IMAX provides the world's most immersive movie experience.





The director of Titanic takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption, discovery and unexpected love -- as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization in this epic action adventure fantasy. Conceived 14 years ago and over four years in the making, Avatar breaks new ground in delivering a fully immersive, emotional story and reinvents the moviegoing experience.

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