Warner Bros. confirms Watchmen in IMAX

July 23, 2008 – 6:28 pm | Permalink

Cinema Blend reports from Comic Con:

First big news from Comic Con, though it’s old news for Internet rumor watchers. Warner Bros. has confirmed that they will be releasing Watchmen in IMAX next spring, via text messages sent to Comic Con attendees. They’re offering attendees the chance to win tickets to an IMAX screening, which is probably a good thing; now that we know it’ll be showing on that giant screen, tickets will probably start selling out tomorrow.

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Singapore to host 3D film festival

July 23, 2008 – 3:31 pm | Permalink

   

From GSCA news:

Singapore will host 3DX: 3D Film & Entertainment Technology Festival (3DX), the first-ever festival of its kind dedicated to stereoscopic 3D content and technologies. The five-day festival will comprise conferences with leading international speakers as well as screening of 3D movies for the public.

. . .

To date, the selection of films to be screened at 3DX includes:

  • Journey to the Center of the Earth, a live-action adventure from New Line Cinema and Walden Media, starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem;
  • Fly Me to the Moon, an animated family film from Belgium’s nWave Pictures and Summit Entertainment, featuring characters voiced by Kelly Ripa, Nicollette Sheridan, Tim Curry and Ed Begley Jr.;
  • Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean, an IMAX Digital 3D documentary produced by 3D Entertainment and McKinney Underwater Productions, presented by Jean-Michel Cousteau and narrated by Daryl Hannah;
  • U2 3D, a real-time recording of Irish band U2’s “Vertigo” concert in South America by 3ality Digital and distributed by National Geographic.

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Reading IMAX to open soon

July 23, 2008 – 1:54 pm | Permalink

The IMAX theater at R/C Reading Movies 11 in Reading, Pennsylvania is set to open on August 8. WFMZ-TV 69 News reports:

Workers using a towering crane carefully lifted a large sign into place on the outside of the new IMAX theater in Reading’s Entertainment Square this morning. Later today, the nearly 3,000 square-foot screen will be raised into position. The new Reading Movies 11 IMAX Theatre at 2nd and Washington streets is set to open to the public on August 8.

Upcoming films to the IMAX theater include nWave’s 3D animated film, Fly Me to the Moon 3D, and the sixth Harry Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

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Other directors to follow Nolan’s suit

July 23, 2008 – 12:18 pm | Permalink

With the success of The Dark Knight, many directors may be following in Christopher Nolan’s footsteps by filming and incorporating IMAX footage with 35mm format. The Globe and Mail explores Nolan’s technical ingenuity and his influence in Hollywood and IMAX:

[IMAX Co-CEO Richard] Gelfond said yesterday that Imax is now in talks with several other directors who want to duplicate Mr. Nolan’s model, where scenes are shot for the oversized Imax screens, and then shrunk for regular theatres.

“A number of directors have really responded favourably to what Chris has done,” Mr. Gelfond said. “We’re only having preliminary discussions, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in 2009, someone else tries what Chris has done.”

He would not discuss which studios have approached Imax in the wake of The Dark Knight, but mentioned it is likely Imax will have another, similar film delivered in 2009, given the discussions going on.

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IMAX at Anaheim GardenWalk opens

July 22, 2008 – 1:36 pm | Permalink

The OC Register covers the opening of the IMAX Theater at Anaheim’s GardenWalk which opened for business last week. The IMAX theater is part of a 13-screen multiplex situated in the GardenWalk mall.

Crowds this weekend lined up at the newly-opened IMAX theater in to buy tickets for the wildly popular “Dark Night.” Bruce Sanborn, president of the company that runs Cinema Fusion, said it was the perfect film with which to open the IMAX.

“It’s a big, huge attraction as long as ‘Dark Night’ is playing,” he said. “Half the people in the audience were from L.A.”

The main challenge for the theater now, he said, is making sure people know it’s open for business. It’s closer to the Disney Way side of the GardenWalk than to the Katella Avenue side. This makes it tough to draw customers because a lot of shops and restaurants off Disney way aren’t open yet.

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Augusta IMAX in the works?

July 22, 2008 – 1:17 pm | Permalink

The Augusta Chronicle reports an the Augusta Regal Exchange 20 could soon be receiving an IMAX theater:

Regal Entertainment Group representatives said they are investigating the possibility of retrofitting one the existing Regal Exchange auditoriums for an IMAX Digital system. IMAX and Regal signed an agreement in March to partner on 31 IMAX theaters in 20 U.S. markets. Although Regal is not confirming that the Regal Exchange 20 is one of the theaters, the Regal corporate site features an announcement that an IMAX theater is “coming soon” to the Exchange, and the IMAX corporate site lists a fall opening date.

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The Dark Knight shatters IMAX opening box office records

July 22, 2008 – 11:58 am | Permalink

Highlights include:

  • Record worldwide IMAX opening weekend at $7 million
  • Record domestic IMAX three-day opening weekend at $6.3 million
  • Record per screen average at $67,036
  • Record number of engagements for any domestic IMAX release at 94
  • Record 12:01 show gross at $641,508
  • Record opening day at $2,590,581

IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that the studio’s summer box office hit, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, and directed by Christopher Nolan, shattered opening box office records on 94 IMAX screens during its debut. The IMAX release contributed $6.3 million of the $158.4 million that the film grossed at the domestic box office, on a total of 94 North American screens this weekend. The picture posted a domestic IMAX per screen average of $67,036. Internationally, the picture generated approximately $725,000 from 15 IMAX® theatres, and it is scheduled to open in 24 more IMAX locations in the coming weeks. The film’s worldwide IMAX opening total was a record-breaking $7 million.

Press Release >>

Dark Knight to push IMAX into mainstream?

July 22, 2008 – 11:41 am | Permalink

The Hollywood Reporter examines the impact of The Dark Knight’s success, and what it means for IMAX’s future and potential mainstream popularity. Though IMAX has attempted to come into the populace’s consciousness with their many DMR releases (from The Matrix to Beowulf), the company has yet to see the inflated triple digit commercial success of Hollywood films.

So why might success with “Dark Knight” finally push Imax into the exhibition mainstream? Two big reasons, potentially:

– The $158.4 million opening for the latest Batman sequel featured $6.2 million from just 94 Imax screens, or a mind-numbing $67,000 per venue.

– The unprecedented giant-screen grosses come just as the company is making a big push into digital exhibition.

That latter point is particularly important.

The digital push is lowering exhibitors’ costs on Imax equipment for prospective partnerships — from $1 million-plus per installation to about $150,000. So combined with favorable publicity from its “Dark Knight” success, Imax hopes to have a much larger installed base of giant screens soon.

It also will help Imax participate more aggressively in the spreading 3-D mania.

Read the full article by following the link:

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UPDATE: The Film Phantom Blog takes a look at some of the problems IMAX faces in reaching the mainstream:

The problem that IMAX has had is two-fold. 1) There aren’t that many IMAX theatres around the country, and certainly nowhere near the number of normal projection cinemas. Tickets to an IMAX event are more costly as well, but its not a significant difference that would affect it as much as the lack of screens would.

. . .

2) Hollywood films are not filmed in IMAX and thus don’t take real advantage of the benefits visually or audibly. There hasn’t been a live action Hollywood release shot entirely in IMAX and so far only a few films like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Beowulf have made use of the 3D offerings in IMAX with any kind of success, and that has been moderate. So even when a big time film gets released in IMAX there isn’t much of a differentiation between it and the one shown down at the local AMC. Until now.

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UPDATE: Aspect Ratio Blog give a detailed look at IMAX’s history and Hollywood’s tepid acceptance of the format, perhaps up until TDK:

[I]t would appear that Hollywood has had a very limited relationship with IMAX. Each of the innovations mentioned thus far have been half-hearted attempts by studios and filmmakers to exploit the IMAX format. Hollywood is known for its conservative feelings towards innovative image and sound technology. A “wait and see” approach has dominated the industry since the very beginning, which is partly why it took nearly seven decades for wide film processes such as Panavision to become an industry norm and not a novelty. In many ways, technical standardization is the result of a perfect storm of happenings: audience demand, economic security, and a film (or set of films) to ignite public interest.

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Video: Watchmen to come out in IMAX

July 21, 2008 – 6:30 pm | Permalink

IMAX has just posted a teaser for the IMAX version of Watchmen on their website. The film is based on the DC comic written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. The story is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” — which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union — is permanently set at five minutes to midnight.

Watch the IMAX teaser:




Though no official press release has been issued yet, the film will most likely be digitally remastered (DMR) into IMAX for a day-and-date release to IMAX and conventional theaters. The film is directed by Zack Snyder whose previous film 300 also received an IMAX release in 2007.

BMZ Film Page >>

Video: 2 Dark Knight IMAX promos

July 21, 2008 – 5:14 pm | Permalink

We’ve posted a couple new-ish IMAX promos for The Dark Knight. Watch them below.

IMAX Trailer:




IMAX Featurette:




BMZ Film Page >>