For movie lovers, one of the things that matters almost as much as a movie story line, is the picture and sound quality. Up until recently, there was little question as to where you needed to go to get the best video possible for a movie -- your nearest Imax theater. But recently, Imax has been under pressure from advancements in 3D systems and digital projection.What Imax really needs is to get as many big name blockbuster productions as possible into its lineup. The company, which currently has 320 theaters, got some good news today: Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) will release five new movies in Imax format.
The first of the five new Disney Imax movies will feature one of the industry's largest stars, Jim Carrey. He will play in an Imax production of "A Christmas Carol," which will be directed by Robert Zemeckis, the director of the highly successful "Polar Express" back in 2004, and be released late next year.
Originally, Imax had the advantage of offering a superior picture to its audience, but the downside was that it was limited to just its large screened Imax theaters. To keep up with the competition, Imax has been making changes to its system in order to allow its movies to be played in traditional movie theaters as well.
Disney has not announced what the other four titles will be for the upcoming Imax releases, but you can bet that they will probably be in 3D, which tends to offer higher revenues for its movies. On average, 3D auditoriums tend to deliver three times the amount of revenue as traditional auditoriums.
The last time Disney released an Imax movie was in 2006, with its movie "Roving Mars".
Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.
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