IMAX Corporation and The Walt Disney Studios have renewed their exhibition agreement with a multi-picture deal, beginning this year and extending through 2017, that includes live-action and animated tentpole releases from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm.
“The pairing of high-quality content with premium experiences like IMAX creates an incredible moviegoing experience for audiences,” said The Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman in a statement. “As we look forward to an extraordinary collection of films in the years ahead, The Walt Disney Studios is thrilled to expand our long-term relationship with IMAX to bring the best from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm to some of the most advanced theaters worldwide.”
As part of the agreement, IMAX will be involved in the release of multiple live-action tentpoles, along with some key animated films from Disney, underscoring IMAX’s continued shift toward more flexibility in programming. Highlights of the deal include the highly-anticipated Star Wars stand-alone film Rogue One and Star Wars: Episode VIII; Marvel’s Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Thor: Ragnarok; Disney•Pixar’s Finding Dory and Toy Story 4 (in limited release); and Disney’s The Finest Hours, Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass, The Jungle Book and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
“Our relationship with Disney has continued to strengthen after having released 25 films in IMAX theatres since 2009,” said IMAX CEO Richard L Gelfond added. “The films in this new agreement promise to continue to provide IMAX audiences the highest-quality films available.”
“We are extremely happy to build upon our growing relationship with Disney, working together with its various film banners to bring unparalleled entertainment to IMAX audiences around the world,” said IMAX Corp. and CEO of IMAX Entertainment Sr. EVP Greg Foster. “For IMAX, this deal represents a next step towards creating a diversified slate, which offers moviegoers a broad range of highly innovative and engaging entertainment to be experienced in IMAX theatres.”
The IMAX release of each film 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.