NIGHTLIFE
Upcoming IMAX Theater
February 14th, 2006
Michigan already ranks among one of the most successful IMAX states in the country on a per theatre basis, and the newly announced Ann Arbor IMAX MPX theatre is sure to boost that statistic when it opens with "Poseidon" on May 12. The sixth IMAX theatre in Michigan, the Ann Arbor location will benefit from the largest slate of Hollywood blockbusters ever, scheduled for 2006.
Other Michigan theatres include: Dearborn - Henry Ford Museum; Detroit Science Centre; Grand Rapids - Celebration Cinema North; Lansing - Celebration Cinema Lansing; and Sterling Heights - AMC Forum.

IMAX’s box office successes in Michigan are merely a proof point to a larger story -- that a premium experience will keep audiences coming to theatres. We've seen it with the ticket sales surrounding the slate of holiday movies and with IMAX's continued success when others were ready to throw up their hands and mourn the death of the theatre. 2006 is poised to be even better.
•       Seven films grossed more than $200 million (domestic) in 2005 -- three of  them were simultaneously released in IMAX:  Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  
•       For Polar Express (domestic, through December 2005) the IMAX DMR release contributed more than 25% of total box office while playing on approximately 1% of the screens.
•       IMAX DMR box office for 2005 was up 35% vs. the 5% decline for the industry {# of screens increased 21%}.

•       For the past 14 months IMAX DMR films have cumulatively grossed nearly $90 million in North America / more than $100 million worldwide.
•       The Polar Express has grossed nearly $56 million worldwide and grossed more than $10 million in its second season, when it was re-released simultaneously with the DVD launch.
•       An IMAX release adds an extra layer of energy to a film's release and helps further distinguish the film from its competition -- just as a multiplex with an IMAX screen differentiates itself from nearby competitors without an IMAX screen and the in-home experience of watching DVD's and VOD releases of films.

For additional information please contact:  
Martha Shaughnessy
Atomic Public Relations
8 California Street, 5th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94111
p: (415) 402-0230
f: (415) 402-0237



Scott Garner

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