Flying Swords of Dragon Gate Soars at Box Office Generating $2.5 Million in IMAX Across China

BEIJING, Dec. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and Bona Film Group (Nasdaq: BONA), a leading film distributor in China, today announced that the 3D martial arts motion picture Flying Swords of Dragon Gate earned approximately $2.5 million at the box office in 59 digital IMAX® theatres across China during its opening weekend for a per-screen average of $42,400.

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"We're extremely pleased with the box office performance of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," said Dong Yu, Chairman and CEO of Bona Film Group. "Having the film showcased in IMAX 3D is certainly a significant marketing factor."

"The results of our network growth in China are bearing fruit with the opening weekend box office success of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," said Richard L. Gelfond, CEO of IMAX Corporation. "With more than 200 theatres currently open or in backlog in China, over half of which are under a revenue share arrangement, we expect to continue to capitalize on both local language and Hollywood blockbusters in this market to increase our bottom line."

"The success of the film during its opening weekend resulted from a combination of having a tremendous film and a strong marketing campaign in which IMAX was highlighted," said Greg Foster, IMAX Chairman and President of Filmed Entertainment. "We are honored to be a part of this blockbuster and have the opportunity to work with legendary filmmaker Tsui Hark and our partners at the Bona Film Group." 

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate: An IMAX 3D Experience is the first Chinese-language feature production to be released in IMAX 3D.  The film reunites renowned director Tsui Hark with his Once Upon a Time in China leading man, Jet Li, and also stars Zhou Xun, Aloys Chen Kun, Kwai Lun-Mei, Li Yuchun and Fan Xiaoxuan.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate: An IMAX 3D Experience will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology for presentation in IMAX 3D. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique immersive environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Chow Wai-On, a Ming Dynasty general played by Jet Li, finds himself at odds with Yu Hua-Tian (Aloys Chen Kun), an evil, power-hungry eunuch. Eventually, these two adversaries cross paths with Lin Yan-Qiu (Zhou Xun) at the titular Dragon Gate Inn, a remote outpost in the desert at the very frontier of the kingdom.

About Bona Film Group Limited

Bona Film Group Limited (Nasdaq: BONA) is a leading film distributor in China, with an integrated business model encompassing film distribution, film production, film exhibition and talent representation.

Bona distributes films to Europe, Greater China, Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States, invests and produces movies in a variety of genres, owns and operates seventeen movie theaters and manages a range of talented and popular Chinese artists.

For more information about Flying Swords of Dragon Gate: please contact Jeffrey Chan at [email protected] or +(86)186 1006 2266

For more information about Bona, please visit www.bonafilm.cn.

About IMAX China

IMAX (Shanghai) Multimedia Technology Co., Ltd. (IMAX China) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, and is formed under the laws of the People's Republic of China. IMAX China was established by IMAX Corporation specifically to oversee the expansion of IMAX's business throughout Greater China.

About IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment and technology companies, specializing in the creation and delivery of premium, awe-inspiring entertainment experiences. With a growing suite of cutting-edge motion picture and sound technologies, and a globally recognized entertainment brand, IMAX is singularly situated at the convergence of the entertainment industry, innovation and the digital media world. The industry's top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and as such, the IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. The Company's new digital projection and sound systems - combined with a growing blockbuster film slate - are fueling the rapid expansion of the IMAX network in established markets such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Russia. IMAX theaters deliver the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, and IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-Mastering) technologies. IMAX DMR enables virtually any motion picture to be transformed into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®. 

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing.  As of September 30, 2011, there were 583 IMAX theatres (441 commercial multiplex, 23 commercial destination and 119 institutional) operating in 48 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience® and The IMAX Experience® 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. Important factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, general economic, market or business conditions, including the length and severity of the current economic downturn, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by IMAX, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes and developments in the commercial exhibition industry, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions, foreign currency fluctuations and IMAX's prior restatements and the related litigation.  These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company'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