Since 2003, Warner Bros has partnered with IMAX to release a number of their major films on IMAX screens each year. Today, it was announced that they have extended that agreement and will release another 20 films in the IMAX Experience over three years:
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15, 2012- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and Warner Bros. Pictures, a division of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), today announced that they have agreed to release up to 20 Warner Bros. films in the immersive IMAX Experience® over the next three years, in an extension of the core partnership that began in 2003. The arrangement will continue to align the worldwide box office power of Warner Bros.' tent-pole film business with the fast-growing global popularity of The IMAX Experience, providing the studio with an additional, differentiated platform that consistently delivers the best experience in cinema and strong returns for studios and exhibitors.
The arrangement also underscores the excitement around Warner Bros.' upcoming slate, which includes many of the most anticipated movie-event titles emerging from Hollywood over the next few years. Warner Bros. titles to be released for 2013 include: Jack the Giant Slayer (March 1, 2013); Man of Steel (June 14, 2013); Pacific Rim (July 12, 2013); 300: Rise of an Empire (August 2, 2013); Gravity; Seventh Son (October 18, 2013); The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 13, 2013).
"Together with IMAX and our exhibitor partners, we have built a unique, incremental distribution platform over the last 10 years," said Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. "We are excited to continue this tradition and offer these films to audiences in the most premium of moviegoing experiences."
"The IMAX footprint continues to expand with tremendous success around the world," said Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President, International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. "We are very pleased to be presenting our 2013 and future slate in this premium theatrical environment."
"Our longstanding partnership with Warner Bros. has resulted in extraordinary experiences for IMAX audiences, and we're excited to add these core additional titles to our upcoming film slate," said Richard L. Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. "The growing network of IMAX theatres around the globe continues to enable all of our studio partners to deliver their films in a uniquely immersive way, and provide moviegoers with a premium way to experience the biggest movies."
"IMAX continues to have a deep appreciation for the Warner Bros. team and its talented filmmaker collective as well as its comprehensive approach to our industry," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "We're confident that our continued partnership with Warner Bros. on all levels – pre-production, production, post production, marketing and distribution - will greatly benefit our two companies, our exhibition partners and moviegoers worldwide."