IMAX Corporation today announced that “Beowulf: An IMAX 3D Experience” grossed $2.95 million on 84 domestic IMAX screens during its second weekend, setting a new record for the highest grossing second weekend in IMAX history. IMAX® theatres contributed more than 17 percent of the weekend’s overall domestic box office of $16.5 million on less than 2 percent of the screens, with a per screen average of $35,076. The ten-day domestic total for the IMAX® 3D release was $8.8 million, with a per screen average of $104,500. Further, 45 of the 50 top-performing domestic locations playing Beowulf were IMAX theatres. The worldwide IMAX total for Beowulf has reached $11.1 million.
“The record-breaking second weekend performance of ‘Beowulf’ in IMAX theatres provides another example of how IMAX 3D can drive multiplex attendance,” said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “As 3D content becomes increasingly available in theatres around the world, we believe that IMAX 3D will remain the gold standard and continue to be first choice for consumers who want to experience movies in a way they cannot get anywhere else.”
The IMAX 3D version of Beowulf also continued to show strong results internationally, grossing $1.3 million on 35 screens through the second weekend, bringing the international total to $2.3 million. London’s bfi IMAX theatre was up 2% over its opening weekend, posting more than $115,000 for the second weekend in a row, and in Russia, Moscow’s Nescafe IMAX Theatre posted over $120,000 in gross box office receipts, selling out every show through its four-day opening weekend.
“‘Beowulf’ is an exciting picture that is ideally suited to IMAX 3D and the second weekend results show that word-of-mouth is clearly kicking in,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “We’re also very pleased with the international results, which serve as another testament to the people at Paramount Pictures, Shangri-La Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures, who have done an outstanding job of delivering a movie that resonates well with IMAX audiences globally.”
Inspired by the 9th century English epic poem, Beowulf combines a digitally enhanced live-action filmmaking technology with an all-star cast that includes Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie. Neil Gaiman (MirrorMask, the graphic novel “Sandman”) and Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) adapted the legend for the screen.
