Imax reached 15 new Theaters JV in South Korea

Imax agreed to form a joint venture with a South Korean theater exhibitor to operate up to 15 new theaters in the country as the giant-screen movie operator seeks to expand its presence in Asia.

The agreement with CJ CGV Co Ltd was signed following the success of the exhibitor's five existing Imax locations in South Korea, where the current 3D release of the blockbuster movie "Avatar" has generated more than $6.5 million, Imax said.

"It is a big market opportunity out there (in Asia) for the success of Imax," Craig-Hallum Capital analyst Mark Argento told Reuters by phone.

In December, Imax, known for digitally remastering Hollywood blockbusters, said it was in talks with at least five film companies in China. [ID:nTOE5B6073]

Some of the big movies last year created lot of incremental demand for Imax's products and the international market offers natural growth opportunities, the analyst said.

"We expect to see more type of such deals going forward," Argento said.

The deal with CJ CGV will add 10 new joint venture locations in the major cities in South Korea, and has an option to increase that number to 15.

Brigantine Advisors analyst Steven Frankel said Imax may not follow a similar pattern to expand in China.

"I think in China there isn't sufficient infrastructure around in reporting of box office receipts to form joint ventures. So, they have been selling equipments in China," Frankel said.




3D BOOST

Imax, which will report its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, said it has been seeing increasing demand in South Korea, and the rollout of its new locations is expected to begin later this year.

"We expect the company could grow in excess of 30 percent in 2010, which is a combination of more theaters, larger installed base of Imax theaters and better performance, more and more revenue growth at box office per theater," analyst Argento said.

Imax said that separately, CJ CGV will upgrade four of its existing Imax film-based locations to the company's digital projection system.

Source:Reuters


Read more...

Imax Role on The Evolution of Cinema

IMAX is one such advancement in films that has transformed the cinema-going experience to create much larger screens with higher resolution movies being projected onto them. Film shot for IMAX is shot on larger 65 mm film which is then run through the camera horizontally. This means that the IMAX film image is 69.6 mm wide and 48.5 mm tall, instead of the normal 48.5 mm wide and 22.1 mm tall.



The film is then run through the camera three times as quickly in order for it to be exposed at 24 frames per second.

Several films these days contain scenes that have been shot specifically for display on IMAX, such as the new Transformers sequel, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, which features three scenes shot for IMAX.

The film is then run through the camera three times as quickly in order for it to be exposed at 24 frames per second.

Several films these days contain scenes that have been shot specifically for display on IMAX, such as the new Transformers sequel, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, which features three scenes shot for IMAX.


Read more...

Transformers 2 Gets at Least 3 IMAX Scenes

Variety reports that director Michael Bay will film at least three action set pieces using IMAX cameras for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The trade adds that director Jon Favreau has discussed using IMAX cameras in filming Iron Man 2, while director D.J. Caruso has expressed interest in doing so for future projects such as Y: The Last Man.



LOS ANGELES /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - IMAX Corporation, DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures today announced that director Michael Bay will shoot key sequences of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with IMAX® cameras. Bay will integrate the IMAX footage with state of the art CGI to create an unprecedented look and feel for the highly anticipated sequel to last year's box office hit, Transformers. As previously announced, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be released to IMAX® theatres simultaneously with the movie's wide release on June 26, 2009.

The movie sequences shot in traditional 35mm will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The IMAX DMR scenes will appear in the traditional "letterbox" shape, while scenes shot with IMAX's cameras will expand vertically to fill the entire IMAX screen.

"The extraordinary level of detail and intensity captured by the IMAX camera creates many exciting possibilities for us with this film," said Michael Bay, the film's director. "IMAX's all-encompassing format will take this story to a new level, and I am once again very excited to share The IMAX Experience with Transformers fans around the world."

"The addition of another amazing title from DreamWorks and Paramount, combined with more groundbreaking use of IMAX technology by Hollywood's top filmmakers, are examples of how far we have come as a company and a distribution platform over the past several years," said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "The growth of the IMAX theatre network, fueled by the economical benefits of the new IMAX digital system, is driving interest from virtually all of the top studios, which is resulting in more IMAX movies for audiences to enjoy."

"Michael Bay's innovative use of IMAX cameras will create a spectacular cinematic adventure for moviegoers next summer," added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "We're very excited to be integrated as a core part of the Transformers production, and with the skilled marketing and distribution teams at DreamWorks and Paramount, the timing is ideal given our expanding global audience and network footprint."
Read more...