BEOWULF Slays IMAX Records

By: Jarrod Sarafin, News Editor
Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Source: IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation today announced that Beowulf: An IMAX 3D Experience contributed a record-setting $3.58 million of the $27.5 million that the film grossed at the domestic box office through its opening weekend. The IMAX(R) 3D release played on 84 domestic IMAX screens and registered 13 percent of the film's overall box office on less than two percent of the total screens. This performance marks the highest percentage box office contribution to a Hollywood film's total opening weekend performance in IMAX's history. The IMAX per screen average through the three day weekend was $42,625.

"The weekend performance of Beowulf in IMAX(R) theatres confirms that 3D is very good for IMAX, regardless of the other options available to consumers," said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "As 3D increasingly becomes top of mind with Hollywood filmmakers and studios, we believe IMAX will remain at the forefront - offering an unrivaled 3D experience that resonates with film critics, audiences and exhibitors."

Many IMAX theatres reported sold-out shows throughout the weekend, with several adding 2:00 a.m. screenings to meet audience demand. The film also performed well internationally, grossing an estimated $660,000 from 13 IMAX screens. Another 21 international IMAX engagements will open next week, followed by 7 more in the coming weeks.

"Beowulf in IMAX 3D has tapped into a wide audience, including the elusive tech-savvy 15 - 30 year-old demographic. Based on these early results, we are enthusiastic about the strong word of mouth and the film's potential legs in IMAX - particularly as we head into the holiday and heavy movie-going week ahead," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Our partners at Paramount Pictures, Shangri-La Entertainment Warner Bros. Pictures, and Robert Zemeckis have delivered a movie that is ideally suited to IMAX 3D, and we're gratified moviegoers clearly agree."

Inspired by the 9th century English epic poem, Beowulf combines a digitally enhanced live-action filmmaking technology with an all-star cast that includes Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie. Neil Gaiman (MirrorMask, the graphic novel Sandman) and Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) adapted the legend for the screen.