IMAX Corporation today announced that it has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures through which the Studio will release its full-length CGI stop-motion feature, The Polar Express, to conventional theatres and in the IMAX® 3-D format, exclusively to IMAX® theatres, on November 19 in the U.S. and many international territories. The film will be digitally converted into IMAX 3-D using both the proprietary IMAX 3-D conversion process and IMAX DMR® (Digitally Re-mastering) technology. Warner Bros. Pictures will be the exclusive distributor of The Polar Express to IMAX theatres worldwide.
The holiday themed film, based on the classic Caldecott award-winning children’s book written by Chris Van Allsburg, is directed by Oscar® winner Robert Zemeckis and stars two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks. Using state-of-the-art CGI and stop-motion photography to create a unique blend of realism and fantasy, it tells of a doubting young boy who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole and embarks on a journey of self- discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.
“When I saw the tests for The Polar Express in IMAX 3-D, I was excited that audiences would be able to experience the film this way,” said Robert Zemeckis, director of The Polar Express. “The 3-D adds incredible depth and allows the viewers to experience the visual splendor and amazing adventure of this classic story in a way which should create a really memorable experience, not only this holiday season but for many years to come.”
“By releasing The Polar Express in IMAX 3-D with the most powerful 3-D images in the world, we can offer movie fans something they have never experienced before,” said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. “We believe this spectacular holiday film will satisfy consumers’ rapidly growing appetite for both a premium and 3-D cinematic experience. We think this added dimension will contribute to the success of the film in all of its other formats, as fans will want to see the film again and again.”
“With The Polar Express in 3-D, all audiences – especially children – will experience an entirely new way to see Hollywood movies,” said IMAX Co-CEO’s Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “Through the magic of IMAX 3-D technology, fans of this story are going to have the opportunity to be a part of a narrative work like never before, whether it’s catching the snowflakes off of screens that are up to eight stories tall, dodging the train’s arrival as the whistle blows in 12,000 watts of digital surround sound, or feeling the journey of traveling to the North Pole – audiences will literally be a part of the story. The combination of a popular book, an Academy Award-winning filmmaking team and IMAX 3-D is exactly what we were looking for to complete IMAX’s 2004 commercial film slate, which is the strongest in the Company’s history.”
“With the success of Hollywood movies digitally re-mastered into IMAX’s format and the enduring popularity of IMAX 3-D around the world, the next natural progression in revolutionizing the way people see event blockbuster films is in IMAX 3-D,” said Greg Foster, IMAX’s President of Filmed Entertainment. “IMAX has the world’s best performing 3-D films. The most recent IMAX 3-D film released by Warner Bros. and IMAX, NASCAR 3-D, has broken records and is the fastest grossing IMAX documentary ever. The release of The Polar Express to the IMAX theatre network is a giant step for IMAX, and we are so excited to work with industry innovators like Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis, Castle Rock and Warner Bros., who see the added value in the IMAX 3-D medium and the spectacular experience it provides.”
The Polar Express will be the sixth film released to IMAX theatres by Warner Bros. Pictures since 2003. The studio had successful IMAX DMR releases of the second and third installments of The Matrix trilogy, and its first originally produced IMAX 3-D live action film, NASCAR 3-D: The IMAX Experience, has consistently ranked among the industry’s top 20 highest grossing films since its release on March 12, 2004. On June 4, 2004 Warner Bros. plans to release an IMAX DMR version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to IMAX theatres day and date with the conventional release of the film in the U.S., Canada and selected international territories, followed by an IMAX DMR release of Catwoman in July.
