LAS VEGAS, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation
(NYSE: IMAX) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment today announced a
new virtual reality co-financing and production agreement to
develop and release three premium, interactive VR experiences based
on some of Warner Bros. Pictures' most highly anticipated upcoming
blockbuster films, including Justice
League, Aquaman and a third experience that has
yet to be announced. The companies plan to launch one
experience each year – beginning with Justice League VR in
late 2017 – with all to receive an exclusive window in IMAX VR
centres before being made available to other VR platforms,
including in-home and mobile offerings.
"It's fitting that with IMAX and Warner Bros.' shared history of
launching Hollywood movies in IMAX
theatres, today we're entering into our first studio deal to bring
original VR content to the multiplex," said IMAX Corp. CEO
Richard L. Gelfond. "A key component
of our vision for VR is to help usher in the first wave of high-end
blockbuster-based content. Justice
League and Aquaman feature some of the most
beloved characters on the planet, providing iconic properties to
launch this effort. This type of premium content will
introduce audiences to virtual reality in standalone and
multiplex-based IMAX VR centres as well as other platforms."
"We are excited to be partnering with IMAX to develop and
deliver premium VR experiences, and believe that capitalizing on
Justice League and
Aquaman characters from our well-known DC properties will
broaden the appeal of this fast growing technology," said
Ron Sanders, President, Warner Bros.
Worldwide Home Entertainment Distribution. "Using content and
characters from these upcoming films and incorporating creative
direction from some of Hollywood's
most innovative filmmakers will help us to bring a groundbreaking
experience to audiences and consumers who are hungry for a
cutting-edge virtual reality experience."
IMAX launched its flagship pilot IMAX VR Centre in Los Angeles in January, which is off to a
strong start, and is set to open at least five additional centres
in New York City, California, the UK and Shanghai in the coming few months. IMAX plans
to use these pilot locations to test several factors including the
overall customer experience, pricing models and the types of
content featured. If successful, the intent is to roll out the
concept globally to select multiplexes as well as commercial
locations such as shopping centers and tourist destinations.
The IMAX VR Fund, which was announced at the end of 2016, brings
together leaders from the media, entertainment and technology
sectors to aid in the creation of high quality VR content that can
be leveraged across the burgeoning VR industry. The Fund will help
finance the creation of roughly 25 interactive VR content
experiences over the next three years – targeting premium,
event-style productions with its Hollywood studio and filmmaker partners that
complement IMAX's film slate, as well as gaming publishers and
other leading content developers. Investors include IMAX, IMAX
China, Acer, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), China Media Capital,
The Raine Group, Studio City and
WPP.
IMAX VR is a mind-shattering VR experience in a location-based,
state-of-the-art Experience Centre. The IMAX VR Experience features
a unique combination of premium technology and world-class content
that lets users see, feel, move and play in new worlds in a
powerfully immersive and realistic way, much like IMAX® theatres
offer moviegoers a differentiated and best-in-class film
experience. With groundbreaking VR headset technology, 360-degree
sound and sophisticated room tracking, players will be instantly
transported into new virtual worlds that are more realistic than
anything imaginable.
The centres, which will be located in multiplexes, malls and
other commercial and standalone destinations, employ a new modular
design – proprietary to IMAX – that consists of several "pods" to
allow multiple players to enjoy interactive, exciting, moveable VR
experiences. The pods, which are designed to optimize user mobility
and interaction in virtual environments, can be adapted for
specific content experiences – whether single- or
multi-player.
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,
2016, there were 1,215 IMAX theatres (1,107 commercial
multiplexes, 16 commercial destinations and 92 institutions) in 75
countries. On Oct. 8, 2015,
shares of IMAX China, a subsidiary of IMAX Corp., began trading on
the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "HK.1970."
IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D
Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX
nXos® 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).
About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Inc.
Warner
Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros.
Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive
entertainment businesses to maximize current and next-generation
distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception,
WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged
(Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic
sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and
mobile channels, develops and distributes immersive media and
virtual reality (VR) content, and is a significant developer and
publisher of console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE
distributes product through retail partners and licensees.
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.
For additional information please contact:
Business
Media: IMAX
Corporation – New York Ann
Sommerlath 212-821-0155 asommerlath@imax.com
Sloane &
Company – New York Whit Clay 212-446-1864 wclay@sloanepr.com
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Investors: IMAX Corporation – New York Jessica Kourakos 212-821-0110 jkourakos@imax.com
Entertainment
Media: Principal
Communications Group – Los Angeles Melissa Zuckerman/Paul Pflug 323-658-1555 melissa@pcommgroup.com paul@pcommgroup.com
Warner Bros. Home
Entertainment Emily
Zalenski 818-977-7450 emily.zalenski@warnerbros.com
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SOURCE IMAX Corporation