Warner Bros. Pictures' THE POLAR EXPRESS: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE again set new records for an IMAX film by amassing more than $5.45 million from Dec. 26 through Jan.1, making it the highest grossing week in IMAX's history.
In the 10-day holiday period from Dec. 24 through Jan. 2, the film grossed $7.18 million on 62 screens for a per-screen average of $116,000. The film grossed an estimated $2.1 million over the three-day period from Dec. 31 through Jan. 2, an increase of approximately 12% over the previous weekend, and the same as its opening weekend eight weeks ago. With a total estimated worldwide box office cume of $35 million in just eight weeks of release and a domestic per-screen average of approximately $500,000, the film has broken virtually every major IMAX DMR (Digitally Re-mastered) box office record.
"This film has surpassed all of our expectations, capturing the imagination of millions of people around the world and clearly demonstrating how THE IMAX EXPERIENCE can help bolster a blockbuster Hollywood film," said IMAX co-chairmen and co-ceos Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "THE POLAR EXPRESS: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE marks a key milestone in our effort to make IMAX theaters the place to see event films, and with a number of impressive titles already in place for next year, we believe the buzz among consumers will continue to grow."
THE POLAR EXPRESS: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE has been selling out shows all around the world for almost two months, with a number of IMAX theaters reporting record results and best holiday seasons ever.
"The performance of THE POLAR EXPRESS in IMAX theaters has exceeded all of our expectations," added Dan Fellman, president of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. "We are thrilled that the film's word of mouth has been so strong throughout the holiday season, with conventional theaters continuing to build the worldwide box office to approximately $257 million to date."
"It has been a tremendous experience working with Warner Bros. Pictures on IMAX's first feature-length 3D release. Needless to say, we couldn't be happier with the picture's record breaking results and incredible staying power," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of IMAX Filmed Ent. "We look forward with great anticipation to future projects with our partners at Warner Bros., including the highly anticipated summer event film, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, on July 15, 2005."
Founded in 1967, IMAX Corp. (www.imax.com) is one of the world's leading entertainment technology companies. IMAX's businesses include the creation and delivery of some of the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX and IMAX 3D technology, and the development of some of the highest quality digital production and presentation.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
