IMAX Corporation and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man 3 shattered multiple box office records at IMAX® theatres through its opening weekend, contributing a record-setting $4.8 million of the $148 million that the film grossed at the domestic box office, from May 4, through Sunday, May 6. The picture also broke the record for IMAX’s largest single day worldwide total at $2.2 million and posted a remarkable domestic opening weekend per screen average of $57,147. Spider-Man 3 opened on 84 domestic IMAX screens and 34 international IMAX screens, making it the largest opening in IMAX’s 40-year history, with a record-breaking worldwide estimated total of $6.3 million. The film’s overall worldwide debut total was an estimated $375 million.
“We are ecstatic about the opening results in both traditional theatres as well as IMAX venues,” said Rory Bruer, President, Domestic Distribution, Sony Pictures Releasing. “The IMAX release offers fans of Spider-Man another unique and exciting way to experience the film, and we are encouraged by the contribution it has already made to the film’s overall box office performance.”
“The weekend results from ‘Spider-Man 3’ didn’t just break our previous opening record, they blew it away,” said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “Several IMAX theatres were installed to open in time for ‘Spider-Man 3,’ and we are delighted to see that these theatres are already translating into new IMAX audiences — which means greater box office returns for the studio and exhibitors.”
“You know you have a hit on your hands when theatre operators are adding extra shows and some of our theatres are even staying open 24 hours to keep up with the high consumer demand,” added Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures and the Spider-Man filmmakers have delivered a history-making blockbuster to the IMAX theatre network, and the high advance IMAX tickets sales for next week gives us great confidence that this film is going to continue to be a significant draw at IMAX locations throughout the Spring.”
Spider-Man 3 has been digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology, creating a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.
