Harry Potter Breaks IMAX Record

IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The IMAX Experience is now IMAX's highest grossing digitally re-mastered 2D release. With total grosses of more than $16 million on 89 IMAX(R) screens worldwide, it passes the record set by Batman Begins: The IMAX Experience, which grossed $15.9 million last year. This box office success indicates increasing enthusiasm not only for the Harry Potter franchise, but for Hollywood films that have been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience(R).

"With Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros. Pictures created another fantastic vehicle for us to deliver the IMAX(R) Experience, which brought more people out of their homes and back into theatres," said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. "Despite the industry's overall box office decline, IMAX DMR(R) films saw a steady increase in grosses last year. Given the strength of our film slate for 2006, and the growing IMAX(R) theatre network, we believe this new record may be short-lived."

"Releasing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in IMAX theatres enabled audiences to experience the adventure in a whole different way," said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. "IMAX has established a new distribution platform that generates incremental revenues for event films, and integrating the IMAX release into the entire Harry Potter campaign contributed to the continuing excitement and success of the film."

"We're committed to offering moviegoers the most exciting and immersive way to experience Hollywood blockbusters, and we're pleased to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire set the new 2D IMAX DMR box office record," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Partnering with the talented marketing and distribution teams at Warner Bros. Pictures has led to unprecedented success, helping IMAX solidify its position as the place to see the biggest Hollywood event films in both our 2D and IMAX(R) 3D formats."

Of the seven films that grossed more than $200 million for 2005, three were simultaneously released by Warner Bros. Pictures in IMAX's format: Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.