LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX) Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Studios today announced that the epic super hero adventure Marvel's The Avengers will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX^® 3D format and released in IMAX^® digital theatres worldwide day-and-date on May 4, 2012.

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Marvel's The Avengers, based on the well-known Marvel comic book series, is written and directed by Joss Whedon and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson.

Distributed by The Walt Disney Studios, Marvel's The Avengers: An IMAX 3D Experience marks the third Marvel Studios film presented in IMAX, following the releases of Iron Man 2: The IMAX Experience in 2010 and Thor: An IMAX 3D Experience in 2011.

Marvel's The Avengers is the second tentpole film from Walt Disney Pictures to be confirmed as part of IMAX's 2012 film slate. John Carter, which will be released on March 9, will play for 3 weeks in IMAX film theatres and 2 weeks in IMAX's digital network.

"This highly-anticipated gathering of Marvel's epic superheroes combined with the brilliant vision of Joss Whedon is sure to wow audiences when presented in IMAX 3D," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "The Avengers is a perfect film to kick-off our 2012 summer slate and we anticipate this limited IMAX engagement will be a must-see for fans around the world."

The IMAX release of Marvel's The Avengers will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience^® with proprietary IMAX DMR^® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

About Marvel's The Avengers
Marvel Studios presents, in association with Paramount Pictures, Marvel's The Avengers--the super hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow.

When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, produced by Kevin Feige and written and directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel's The Avengers is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series "The Avengers," first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when Marvel's The Avengers assemble in summer 2012. The film will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over 70 years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com. Super Hero(es) is a co-owned registered trademark.

About The Walt Disney Studios
For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; Disneynature; Marvel; and Touchstone Pictures, which includes the distribution of live-action films from DreamWorks Studios. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!. For more information, visit www.waltdisneystudios.com.

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 theaters 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, Shanghai and Beijing. As of September 30, 2011, there were 583 IMAX theatres (441 commercial multiplex, 23 commercial destination and 119 institutional) operating in 48 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).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management'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. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.