IMAX® And Disney Pact On New IMAX® 3D Space Film

LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), today announced an agreement to produce and distribute the latest IMAX® 3D cinematic space spectacle from acclaimed filmmaker Toni Myers, who has been crafting mind-blowing movie experiences for IMAX audiences for more than 40 years.

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This marks the first time IMAX and The Walt Disney Studios are jointly producing a film together. The companies have previously collaborated on the distribution of numerous films from the groundbreaking release of Fantasia 2000 to the recent successful opening of Oz The Great and Powerful.

Myers' upcoming 3D film, which is still untitled, will use IMAX's extremely high-resolution photography and videography to offer breathtaking, illuminating views of our home planet from space, exploring the astonishing changes that have occurred on Earth in just the past several decades.

Made in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the film will explore mankind's future on – and off – the planet, increasing our understanding of the solar system, while also traveling light-years to other star systems to ponder the possibilities of "Goldilocks," an Earth-like planet. The film is expected to be released in 2015.

"Disney has always been a leader in creating immersive fantasy worlds for audiences, but we know there's no more immersive world than the real one," said Alan Bergman, President, The Walt Disney Studios. "This is a bird's eye view of our incredible universe and our future in it, and we're looking forward to diving in with the perfect collaborators, Toni Myers and IMAX."

"We're thrilled to collaborate on our first joint production with Disney," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Entertainment. "Toni Myers and her team have given us films that have been educating, delighting and astonishing IMAX audiences for many years, and we look forward to continuing the journey with this latest spectacle."

Myers has been editing, writing, producing and directing films specifically tailored for The IMAX Experience® since 1971. Her most recent documentary feature film, 2010's acclaimed Hubble 3D, has grossed nearly $53 million in IMAX® theaters to date.

"The 1990 IMAX film Blue Planet was the first time we pointed the IMAX® cameras from space back to Earth to reveal, on a grand scale, the changes being made to our planet by both natural and human forces," Myers said. "It's marvelous and important to have this new opportunity to show what has happened to our planet since then. The International Space Station is a unique and perfect platform from which to see how our home is evolving, and at the same time explore our exciting future in other worlds."   

About The Walt Disney Studios
For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; Disneynature; Marvel; and Touchstone Pictures, which includes the distribution of live action films from DreamWorks Studios. Through the Home Entertainment division, innovative distribution methods provide access to creative content across multiple platforms. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!.  For more information, please visit www.waltdisneystudios.com

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined.  Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing.  As of Dec. 31, 2012, there were 731 IMAX theatres (598 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 114 institutions) in 53 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation.  More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com.  You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

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SOURCE IMAX Corporation