IMAX theaters as an "experience"

In another endorsement of the point I make about better utilizing IMAX theaters in Washington (and even creating an IMAX film to explain the local and national story that is Washington), the Toronto Star reports, in "Big screens mean big holiday crowds" about the success of the Polar Express film in an IMAX format. From the article:

The Polar Express could have been a box office train wreck this season. It was re-released (second time around) in IMAX theatres (huge screens, matching ticket prices) the same day its DVD hit shelves (built-in competition). Families were given the option of buying the disc and enjoying it in the comfort of their home for years to come, or packing into a crowded theatre for a single viewing, at more than double the price — if they could find a cinema showing it.

But seek out and pack the theatres they did, and are still doing. Since its release last month, The Polar Express: An IMAX 3D Experience has hung tough in North America's top 20 grossing films and surpassed $5 million in total gross box office receipts (all figures U.S.) according to IMAX. While King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe may be scoring better box office, each is also playing on far more screens.

Polar Express is running at a mere 66 locations in North America (currently two in the GTA), and already has $45 million in the bank from its initial release. With that taken into account, The Polar Express seems to be chugging along nicely.

Also see "With the gush of big-screen TVs and DVDs, can movie box office stop its downhill roll?" from the San Francisco Chronicle. From the article:

The biggest story in movies this year was the decline in box office. Ticket sales were down for the third straight year, and overall revenues were down for the first time in more than a decade. Meanwhile DVD sales continued to climb. Was this just an anomaly? A blip? Probably not. Was this simply not a very good movie year? To an extent, yes. But something else seemed to be at play in 2005 -- the inevitable drift of movie consumers from theaters to home video. The drift has been ongoing, but this year the box office started feeling the pinch.

Then again, how could it be otherwise? The theater exhibitor says, "If you give me money, I'll show you something." The DVD seller says, "If you give me money, I'll give you something." Right away, the DVD seller has an advantage. Of course, theater exhibitors could try to counteract that advantage with a number of strategies, but in 2005, they explored none of them.
Index Keywords: cinema