Imax Plugging ‘Matrix’ Sequels Into Large Screen
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – “The Matrix” sequels are coming to a big and bigger screen near you.
Large-screen theater operator Imax said Wednesday that Warner Bros. Pictures and producer Village Roadshow’s upcoming “Matrix” films, “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions,” will be released on Imax’s 15 frames-per-second/70mm screen format to accompany the standard theatrical releases debuting this year.
Using Imax’s new Digital Re-mastering (DMR) technology that allows 35mm films to be transferred to the larger format without compromising quality, the Imax version of Andy and Larry Wachowski’s “The Matrix Reloaded” will open two to three weeks after the film’s May 15 release in 35mm. Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said Warners is looking at June 6 for the Imax release. The Imax version of “The Matrix Revolutions” will bow day and date with the film’s Nov. 5 theatrical release, marking the first time a Hollywood event film is released concurrently in both formats.
“The Matrix” films, starring Keanu Reeves, are the third and fourth DMR-converted films, after Universal’s rerelease of Imagine Entertainment’s “Apollo 13” and 20th Century Fox’s rerelease of Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Episode 2 — Attack of the Clones” last year.
“We’re excited to give fans the opportunity to experience the world of ‘The Matrix’ in this spectacular format,” said Joel Silver, producer of “The Matrix” trilogy. “Throughout the Imax digital remastering conversion process, the Imax team took meticulous care in maintaining the technical integrity of the films.”
Imax president of filmed entertainment Greg Foster said Warner Bros. initially planned to release “Revolutions” day and date, but when the executives and the film’s creators saw the initial Imax footage, they wanted to adapt “Reloaded” as well.
“We’ve done a lot of tests for a lot of films, and for whatever reason, ‘The Matrix’ works for what we do,” Foster said. “The sound and presentation is spectacular on the Imax screen.”
Financial terms of the “Matrix” deal were not disclosed, but Imax co-chairman and co-CEO Brad Wechsler said the higher ticket price charged for the Imax experience should benefit both the exhibitor and Warner Bros.
“Those incremental dollars benefit both companies,” Wechsler said. “We don’t really make much money on the film business but rather on our theater network business. We believe that showing a film like ‘The Matrix’ will expand our audience in the 15- to 30-year-old range, a group we look forward to bringing back to Imax theaters.”
The company plans to release “Reloaded” on more than 35 Imax screens in the United States.
“Down the road, the success of these movies should lead to the expansion of Imax around the country,” Fellman said. “Imax is a process that needed to develop more content. This is a first step for them to maximize their potential, and I’m very pleased that we are the first company to enter into an (day-and-date) agreement with them.”
The two companies will also distribute the first-ever 3-D motor sports film “NASCAR: The Imax Experience 3D” next spring.
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