November 23, 2009--Euromax will hold its next meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, at the Swiss Transport Museum on March 21-23, 2010. The meeting will begin late afternoon on Sunday, March 21, and finish by noon on Tuesday, March 23. New films will be shown both in 15/70 2D and in digital 3D or 2D. Screenings have been confirmed so far for Arabia and Magic Journey to Africa, and a preliminary schedule will be posted on the Euromax website before Christmas, depending on the feedback from distributors and producers.
November 16, 2009--Moody Gardens President Michael Riley died Sunday, November 15, of an apparent heart attack. He was 62. Riley became executive director of Moody Gardens Inc. in 1995 and was the onsite representative during the construction of the Discovery Museum, Moody Gardens Hotel, and Aquarium Pyramid. He was named president of Moody Gardens Inc. in 2000. Riley was instrumental in leading Moody Gardens through Hurricane Ike in 2008, and rebuilding the facility after it suffered $50 million in damages was one of his most significant accomplishments, said colleague Irwin Herz in an article appearing in the Galveston Daily News.
November 16, 2009--IMAX Corporation IMAX Corporation and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures today announced that Disney's A Christmas Carol grossed $2.9 million from 182 IMAX theaters domestically during its second weekend from November 13 through November 15, 2009. The IMAX release registered 13 percent of the film's total domestic second-weekend gross of $22.3 million on approximately 3 percent of the screens. The film's domestic IMAX total is now at $8.7 million. Internationally, the film's second-weekend IMAX gross was $635,000, up 16 percent over its opening weekend, due in part to the addition of six more IMAX screens, bringing the film's IMAX global cume to $10.2 million. There are 21 more international IMAX locations scheduled to open the film in the weeks ahead.
November 16, 2009--IMAX Corporation today announced that it has entered into a new credit facility with Wachovia Capital Finance Corporation pursuant to which Wachovia, with the participation of Export Development Canada, has committed to provide a four-year senior secured $75 million credit facility. The credit facility consists of revolving loans of up to $40 million and a term loan of $35 million. The Company intends to use the new facility to finance its future growth and working capital requirements. The credit facility matures on October 31, 2013 and replaces the Company's previous $40 million credit facility which was to mature in October of 2010.
November 16, 2009--IMAX Corporation today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Richard L. Gelfond, and its Chairman, Bradley J. Wechsler, have adopted stock trading plans in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Rule 10b5-1 permits officers and directors of public companies to adopt pre-determined plans for buying and selling specified amounts of stock if the plan is adopted at a time when the purchaser or seller is not aware of any material non-public information.
November 9, 2009--IMAX Corporation and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures today announced that Disney's A Christmas Carol, the Disney Digital 3D holiday release from director Robert Zemeckis and starring Jim Carrey, grossed $4.2 million from 181 IMAX theaters domestically from November 6 through November 8, 2009, registering 14 percent of the film's total domestic gross of $30 million on approximately 3 percent of the screens. The IMAX release generated a per screen average of $23,000. The film also grossed $560,000 internationally from 28 IMAX theaters from November 5 through November 8, 2009. There are 29 more international IMAX locations scheduled to open the film in the weeks ahead, with IMAX locations in Japan and Spain opening this coming weekend.
November 5, 2009--IMAX Corporation and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures have announced that Disney's A Christmas Carol, the Disney Digital 3D holiday release from director Robert Zemeckis and starring Jim Carrey, will open in a record 181 IMAX theaters domestically on November 6, 2009, and 57 IMAX theaters internationally starting on November 5, 2009. Disney's A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience has been digitally re-mastered with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology.
November 5, 2009--Blaze Partners LLC has officially changed its name to Blaze Digital Cinema Works LLC. “This change is to reflect the reality of how I spend most of my work days,” says company President Paul Fraser. Fraser’s client assignments are centered on practically all forms of out-of-home digital motion picture presentation, whether for distribution, exhibition, or content development, for both commercial and institutional markets.
November 5, 2009--IMAX Corporation today reported net income of $1.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009. The company's third quarter net income results included a year-over-year increase of $3.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, in share-based compensation expense primarily due to the company's increased stock price over the course of the quarter. For the third quarter of 2008, the company reported a net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted share. Total revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, increased 33 percent to $43.6 million, compared to total revenues of $32.9 million in the same period last year. The company generated operating income of $4.7 million during the third quarter, a 93 percent increase compared to operating income of $2.4 million in the year-ago period.
November 5, 2009--IMAX Corporation today announced that it has entered into a commitment letter with Wachovia Capital Finance Corporation pursuant to which Wachovia, with the participation of Export Development Canada, has committed to provide a four-year senior secured $75 million credit facility. Upon execution of definitive documents, the credit facility will consist of revolving loans of up to $40 million and a term loan of $35 million. Once completed, the company intends to use the new facility to finance its future growth and working capital requirements. The proposed credit facility matures on October 31, 2013, and will replace the company's previous $40 million credit facility, which was to mature in October of 2010.