Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol The IMAX Experience Explodes into IMAX® Theatres Across North America Five Days Early on Friday, December 16

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX) and Paramount Pictures today announced that Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol The IMAX Experience will begin previews in IMAX on Friday, Dec. 16, five days in advance of the film's North American wide release on Dec. 21. Domestically, the film will open in approximately 300 IMAX^® theatres and play through the film's run at the box office.  

To access and share an interview with Director Brad Bird on the early preview and filming with the IMAX® camera, as well as other multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53535-mission-impossible-ghost-protocol-the-imax-experience

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Internationally, the film will open on approximately 200 IMAX screens beginning on Dec. 14, with several markets receiving an early window release in IMAX ahead of their wide release, including six days in the Netherlands, five days in the UK, three days in France and Poland, two days in Korea, Spain and Taiwan, and one day in various other countries worldwide.

In addition to the early window of engagement, the IMAX release of this fourth installment of Mission: Impossible features approximately 30 minutes of scenes shot with IMAX^® cameras. These specific sequences, including the unbelievable stunt performed by Tom Cruise as he scaled the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, will expand to fill the entire screen, exclusively in IMAX, and further immerse the audience in the explosive action and vast scope of the film.

"We're excited that audiences will be able to preview this film at its best a full five days in advance," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.  "This early engagement demonstrates the confidence that both the studio and filmmakers have in 'The IMAX Experience' to reinforce the event nature of the film and generate positive word-of-mouth to support the wider launch of this favorite franchise."

"The edge-of-your-seat, heart-stopping suspense that Brad Bird masterfully delivers in this film is brought to life in IMAX, providing an up-close, you-are-there experience that is unparalleled," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment.  "Advance screenings of select film sequences shot with IMAX cameras have received overwhelmingly positive reactions from audiences across the globe."

The IMAX release of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR^® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

This holiday season, two-time Academy Award®-winner Brad Bird directs, with producers Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams, the action-packed spy adventure Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates "Ghost Protocol."  Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency's name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.

Tom Cruise returns in the starring role as Ethan Hunt and is joined by an international cast that includes Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor and Lea Seydoux. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird, in his live action film debut, and written by Josh Appelbaum & Andre Nemec. Cruise, who produces the Mission: Impossible films, is joined by producers J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk. The film will be co-financed by Skydance Productions. Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Paul Schwake and Dana Goldberg are the executive producers.

www.missionimpossible.com

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol The IMAX Experience is scheduled to play day-and-date at the following IMAX theatres across North America on December 16 (Click here)

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol The IMAX Experience is scheduled to play day-and-date at the following IMAX international theatres beginning on December 14 (Click here)

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 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 the Company, competitive actions by other companies, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes in law or regulations, conditions, 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 and any future international expansion, foreign currency fluctuations and the Company'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