LOS ANGELES, Oct 5, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) and Paramount Pictures today announced that Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol will begin previews in IMAX beginning Friday, Dec. 16 and playing through the film's run at the box office, which begins worldwide on Dec. 21, 2011. This marks the first time a domestic feature release has been released early in IMAX(R) theatres and reinforces the event nature of this highly-anticipated film. Directed by Academy Award(R)-winner Brad Bird, Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton.

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Coupled with the early window of engagement, the IMAX release of this fourth installment of Mission: Impossible features approximately 30 minutes of scenes shot with IMAX cameras. These specific sequences will expand to fill the entire screen, exclusively in IMAX, and further immerse the audience in the explosive action and vast scope of the film. One featured sequence includes the unbelievable stunt performed by Tom Cruise as he scaled the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai, providing an up-close, you-are-there experience as only IMAX can.

"Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible will be among the highlights of the holiday movie season and we're very happy to share the film with audiences early in IMAX," said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures.

"We believe that the early release of this blockbuster film, shot in part with IMAX cameras, will help generate extra buzz and incremental revenue for both IMAX and the box office overall," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "Today's announcement highlights the confidence that both filmmakers and studios have in the ability of the IMAX platform to deliver an unparalleled movie-going experience and generate positive box office results, while showcasing IMAX's flexibility and scale."

"Paramount Pictures, Bad Robot and Tom Cruise continue to create innovative, event experiences for moviegoers and we're ecstatic that IMAX is a featured component of that event strategy by offering fans this IMAX preview of Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," said Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "The sequences shot with IMAX cameras, coupled with the visionary storytelling of Brad Bird and incredible scope of this film will -- mark my words -- blow audiences away."

The IMAX release of Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience(R) with proprietary IMAX DMR(R) (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 Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name. No help, no contact, off the grid. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird, in his live action film debut, and written by Josh Appelbaum & Andre Nemec and Christopher McQuarrie. Cruise, who produces the Mission: Impossible films, is joined by producers J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk. The film will be co-financed by Skydance Productions. Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Paul Schwake and Dana Goldberg are the executive producers.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.

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(R), IMAX 3D(R), and IMAX DMR(R) (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(R).

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo and Shanghai. As of June 30, 2011, there were 560 IMAX theatres (417 commercial multiplex, 25 commercial destination and 118 institutional) operating in 46 countries.

IMAX(R), IMAX(R) 3D, IMAX DMR(R), Experience It In IMAX(R), An IMAX 3D Experience(R) and The IMAX Experience(R) 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 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 the Company, competitive actions by other companies, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes in law or regulations, conditions, 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 and any future international expansion, foreign currency fluctuations and the Company'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.

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SOURCE: IMAX Corporation

CONTACT:  Entertainment Media:
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