Cars 2 Races Into Select IMAX Theatres This Friday

LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) and Disney•Pixar announced today that Cars 2, the second installment in the popular family-friendly franchise from director John Lasseter, will be released in the immersive IMAX^® 3D format this Friday, June 24. The film will open on 120 domestic IMAX screens, simultaneous with its North American wide release. The film will also open on at least 40 IMAX screens internationally, with 33 screens releasing day-and-date. Additional international playdates are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

"We're excited to bring John Lasseter's Cars 2 to IMAX fans and to once again be working with the terrifically talented teams at Disney and Pixar," said Greg Foster, IMAX Chairman and President, Filmed Entertainment. "The significant growth of our network is allowing us to explore different release strategies, such as offering multiple films simultaneously within the network, which appeal to all segments of the IMAX audience."

Cars 2 An IMAX 3D Experiencehas been digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience^® with proprietary IMAX DMR^® (Digital Re-Mastering) technology for presentation in IMAX 3D. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique immersive environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Cars 2:

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line of top-secret spy mission, Mater's action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

John Lasseter returns to the driver's seat to direct this follow-up to his 2006 Golden Globe-winning Cars. Cars 2 is co-directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar-winning film Ratatouille, and produced by visual effects industry veteran Denise Ream (associate producer, Up; visual effects executive producer, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith).

Cars 2 has been rated G.

Cars 2 An IMAX 3D Experience is scheduled to play day-and-date at the following IMAX theatres beginning June 24^th:

About IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment and technology companies, specializing in the creation and delivery of premium, awe-inspiring entertainment experiences. With a growing suite of cutting-edge motion picture and sound technologies, and a globally recognized entertainment brand, IMAX is singularly situated at the convergence of the entertainment industry, innovation and the digital media world. The industry's top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and as such, the IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. The Company's new digital projection and sound systems - combined with a growing blockbuster film slate - are fueling the rapid expansion of the IMAX network in established markets such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Russia. IMAX theatres deliver the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX®, IMAX 3D®, and IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-Mastering) technologies. IMAX DMR enables virtually any motion picture to be transformed into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®. 

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo and Shanghai. As of March 31, 2011, there were 528 IMAX theatres (408 commercial, 120 institutional) operating in 46 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience® and The IMAX Experience® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

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This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Important factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, general economic, market or business conditions, including the length and severity of the current economic downturn, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by IMAX, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes and developments in the commercial exhibition industry, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions, foreign currency fluctuations and IMAX's prior restatements and the related litigation and investigation by the SEC and the ongoing inquiry by the OSC.  These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.