Disney to Co-Produce IMAX 3D Space Film

IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), today announced an agreement to produce and distribute the latest IMAX® 3D cinematic space spectacle from acclaimed filmmaker Toni Myers, who has been crafting mind-blowing movie experiences for IMAX audiences for more than 40 years.

Myers’ upcoming 3D film, which is still untitled, will use IMAX’s extremely high-resolution photography and videography to offer breathtaking, illuminating views of our home planet from space, exploring the astonishing changes that have occurred on Earth in just the past several decades.

Made in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the film will explore mankind’s future on — and off — the planet, increasing our understanding of the solar system, while also traveling light-years to other star systems to ponder the possibilities of “Goldilocks,” an Earth-like planet. The film is expected to be released in 2015.

“Disney has always been a leader in creating immersive fantasy worlds for audiences, but we know there’s no more immersive world than the real one,” said Alan Bergman, President, The Walt Disney Studios. “This is a bird’s eye view of our incredible universe and our future in it, and we’re looking forward to diving in with the perfect collaborators, Toni Myers and IMAX.”

“We’re thrilled to collaborate on our first joint production with Disney,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Entertainment. “Toni Myers and her team have given us films that have been educating, delighting and astonishing IMAX audiences for many years, and we look forward to continuing the journey with this latest spectacle.”

Myers has been editing, writing, producing and directing films specifically tailored for The IMAX Experience® since 1971. Her most recent documentary feature film, 2010′s acclaimed Hubble 3D, has grossed nearly $53 million in IMAX® theaters to date.

“The 1990 IMAX film Blue Planet was the first time we pointed the IMAX® cameras from space back to Earth to reveal, on a grand scale, the changes being made to our planet by both natural and human forces,” Myers said. “It’s marvelous and important to have this new opportunity to show what has happened to our planet since then. The International Space Station is a unique and perfect platform from which to see how our home is evolving, and at the same time explore our exciting future in other worlds.”