After THE MATRIX RELOADED: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE climbed to an unprecedented $903, 241 in North America in its third weekend, IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. are continuing to discuss other possibilities for DMR conversion, including a day-and-date release of THE POLAR EXPRESS on Nov. 19, 2004, according to a recent Dow Jones Business News story.
Based on the popular children's book by JUMANJI author Chris Van Allsburg, the Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks collaboration concerns a little boy who doesn't believe in Santa Claus until a mysterious train conductor whisks him away to the North Pole. The early buzz on the Warner Bros. release is that all of the actors will be motion captured and computer-animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, with Hanks playing multiple roles.
POLAR EXPRESS would be a real coup for IMAX, which launches its first day-and-date release, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, on Nov. 5, 2003. In the meantime, attendance should continue to rise on IMAX's RELOADED, considering that many of the institutional theaters (such as museums and zoos) are just now increasing their screenings.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
