Press Release from IMAX Corporation
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) and Twentieth Century Fox today announced that James Cameron's Avatar, which has received Golden Globe(R) awards for Best Picture and Best Director, has passed the $150 million mark at IMAX(R) theatres worldwide during the weekend from Friday, January 29, 2010 through Sunday, January 31, 2010. During its seventh weekend, the film grossed $6.02 million from 179 IMAX theatres domestically, representing approximately 21% of the film's total domestic three-day weekend gross of $29.3 million on less than 2% of the screens.
Internationally, the IMAX release grossed $4.3 million from 83 IMAX theatres, bringing the weekend's global IMAX total to approximately $10.5 million and the film's overall IMAX global total to more than $152.9 million. Out of the 262 IMAX screens worldwide showing the film, 17 have already surpassed the $1 million mark.
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).
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, has incorporated 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.
About IMAX Corporation
IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment technology companies, specializing in immersive motion picture technologies. The worldwide IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event Hollywood films around the globe, with IMAX theatres delivering the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX, IMAX 3D, and IMAX DMR(R) technology. IMAX DMR is the Company's groundbreaking digital re-mastering technology that allows it to digitally transform virtually any conventional motion picture into the unparalleled image and sound
quality of The IMAX Experience. The IMAX brand is recognized throughout the world for extraordinary and immersive entertainment experiences for consumers. As of September 30, 2009, there were 403 IMAX theatres (280 commercial, 123 institutional) operating in 44 countries.