Tim Burton's Frankenweenie to be Released in IMAX® 3D on October 5

LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX) and The Walt Disney Studios today announced that Tim Burton's stop-motion, animated film, Frankenweenie will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX® 3D format and released in IMAX® digital theatres worldwide day-and-date on Oct. 5, 2012.  The film marks the first black and white Hollywood feature and first stop-motion animated movie to be presented in IMAX.

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From Disney and directed by Tim Burton, Frankenweenie: An IMAX 3D Experience features the voices of Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short and Winona Ryder. The film is a remake of the live-action short directed by Tim Burton in 1984.

"IMAX has a long-standing relationship with Tim Burton, whose unique artistic vision and brilliant storytelling has captured the imagination of audiences around the world," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "We're excited to add Frankenweenie as the second Tim Burton feature in our 2012 film slate, providing IMAX audiences a distinctive new way to experience animation."

The IMAX release of Frankenweenie will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D 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 Frankenweenie

From creative genius Tim Burton ("Alice in Wonderland, The Nightmare Before Christmas") comes Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor's fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new "leash on life" can be monstrous.

A stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie, will be filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience.

Presented by Disney, Frankenweenie is directed by Tim Burton and produced by Tim Burton and Allison Abbate, with Don Hahn serving as executive producer. John August wrote the screenplay, based on an original idea by Tim Burton. The film will be released in U.S. theaters on October 5, 2012.

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. 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, visit www.waltdisneystudios.com.

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 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 December 31, 2011, there were 634 IMAX theatres (497 commercial multiplex, 20 commercial destination and 117 institutional) in 50 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 performance of IMAX DMR films, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by IMAX, competitive actions by other companies, 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 respond to changes and advancements in digital technology, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions and any future international expansion, the inability to protect IMAX's intellectual property foreign currency fluctuations and IMAX's prior restatements and the related litigation.  These factors and other 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