SUBMITTED BY Scooby
June 25, 2003 — From a press release:
Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX Corporation today announced that The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience enjoyed an unprecedented box office performance in its third weekend at IMAX. theatres. After a strong first two weeks of the run, the film grossed $903,241 in North America over the four-day period from Friday, June 20 through Monday, June 23, 2003, the highest weekend gross since the film's IMAX release. The increase of more than 37% over the same four-day period of the previous week is a strong indicator that the IMAX version of the film will continue to draw fans for repeat viewings throughout the summer.
With The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience having expanded to 50 screens this past weekend, it earned an impressive $18,064 per screen average over the specified four-day period, up from $16,870 per screen for the same period of the previous week. Theatres owned and operated by IMAX where the film opened this past weekend reported an average weekend gross in excess of $28,000 per screen.
"We are very pleased with the results of the film in IMAX's format, particularly its sustained and climbing box office performance," said Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures. "IMAX provides an additional spark that has generated the continued interest of Matrix fans."
"We are really pleased and encouraged by the significant uptick this past weekend. It's quite remarkable for a film to achieve its highest per screen box office performance on the third weekend since its release," said Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler, co-CEO's and co-Chairmen, IMAX Corporation. "It's really establishing a whole new market for repeat business. In fact, preliminary research results indicate that 80% of the audience is seeing the film for the second time, making the IMAX version a bit of a phenomenon."
"We are thrilled by the feedback we have received from IMAX theatre operators throughout the three-week run of the film," said Greg Foster, President of Filmed Entertainment, IMAX Corporation. "The box office performance of The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience is strong evidence that our IMAX. DMR(TM) strategy is taking hold, and bodes well for our upcoming November day-and-date release of the third installment of the Matrix trilogy -- The Matrix Revolutions. As we move into the heart of the summer movie season, we are excited that this film has generated incremental box office and has enabled us to expand beyond our traditional audience, with avid movie-goers thoroughly enjoying The IMAX Experience.."
From the Wachowski Brothers, producer Joel Silver, Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, The Matrix Reloaded, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Ann Moss, was digitally re-mastered into IMAX's 15/70 format through the revolutionary, proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re- mastering) technology, the film is being shown on screens up to eight stories high and up to 120 feet wide with IMAX's unequalled clarity and intensity of image.
With this news, expect more films to be released in IMAX format. |
