LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and IMAX Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX) (TSX:IMX) today announced that Tron: Legacy, the intense, high-tech 3D adventure starring Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, will be released to IMAX(R) theatres in IMAX(R) 3D simultaneously with the film's wide release on December 17, 2010. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Tron: Legacy will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience(R) with IMAX DMR(R) (Digital Re-Mastering) technology. Tron: Legacy is the third film of the previously announced five-picture agreement between IMAX and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

"This is an ideal movie for IMAX's immersive format," said Mark Zoradi, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group. "Tron: Legacy already packs a punch in Disney Digital 3D(TM), and to give audiences the option to experience the enhanced premium IMAX 3D version is a real treat. We're particularly excited to reach a much wider audience now that the IMAX network is expanding with its digital locations."

"2010 is shaping up to be a powerful year for IMAX 3D releases, and Disney's Tron: Legacy is a great addition," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "We believe the buzz that already surrounds this film, combined with its fan-boy following and high-tech visual effects makes it a perfect fit for IMAX and we look forward to its release next year."

"We share a common goal with our partners at Disney, which is to transport people to places they normally can't go, and the world of Tron is certainly one of those cool places," added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Since I saw the first glimpse of Tron: Legacy in 3D over a year ago, I've felt it was the perfect match for the The IMAX Experience."

TRON: LEGACY is set in a digital world that's unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (BRIDGES), looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant Quorra (WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous. The 3D adventure is directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Sean Baily, Jeffrey Silver, Steven Lisberger and written by Lisberger, Richard Jeffries, Brian Klugman & Lee Stemthal, Eddy Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, and Bill Wheeler.

About IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment technology companies, specializing in immersive motion picture technologies. The worldwide IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event Hollywood films around the globe, with IMAX theatres delivering the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX, IMAX 3D, and IMAX DMR(R) technology. IMAX DMR is the Company's groundbreaking digital re-mastering technology that allows it to digitally transform virtually any conventional motion picture into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience. The IMAX brand is recognized throughout the world for extraordinary and immersive entertainment experiences for consumers. As of June 30, 2009, there were 394 IMAX theatres (273 commercial, 121 institutional) operating in 44 countries.

IMAX(R), IMAX(R) 3D, IMAX DMR(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/imaxnews) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

The IMAX Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6469

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 ongoing discussions with the SEC and OSC relating to their ongoing inquiries and the Company's accounting, the performance of films, the signing of theatre system agreements, the viability of new technologies, businesses and products, the timing of theatre system deliveries, the mix of theatre systems shipped, the timing of the recognition of revenues and expenses on film production and distribution agreements, risks arising from potential material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and fluctuations in foreign currency and in the large format, general commercial exhibition and out-of-home entertainment markets. 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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