IMAX Behind Matrix

IMAX hoping for a revolution...

The final instalment in The Matrix trilogy is whipping up enormous hype before its worldwide opening tomorrow.

With experts claiming Warner Bros could recoup the estimated $200m costs of making the film after just 5 days of release.

But topping the long list of die hard fans who'll be hoping that Revolutions is not an anti-climactic flop are the IMAX people.

It's not just those who've worked on the films who'll be waiting with baited breath to see what happens in the box office because for IMAX this could be a watershed moment.

The company, founding in 1967 in Toronto, Canada, are hoping that The Matrix Revolutions - which is the first feature film to open both at cinemas and in IMAX theatres concurrently - will indeed revolutionise their strategy.

They want the IMAX experience to widen its audience, thus becoming a more commercial enterprise.

Until now, the main focus of IMAX has been educational, underlined by the fact that so many of the theatres are located in museums and other institutional venues, like planetariums and maritime centres.

But now they're pushing for commercial success with the plan being to open more theatres around the world.

So The Matrix Revolutions has a lot riding on it...

there's little doubt that the film will be a huge box office success but how popular the IMAX 3D version will be is less of a guarantee for this first time simultaneous release.

If it works in IMAX's favour, and the punters pour in to almost touch Keanu and co., more studios are likely to follow suit and make it part of their distribution strategy.

To do so, they will have to invest the £1.8 - £2.4 million it costs to transform a film into the IMAX format from a normal 35mm print.

If regular feature films take this root, they will see bigger box office returns because IMAX theatres charge more per ticket than average cinemas.

All this means that - in the long run - IMAX will be able to invest in more theatres to bolster the 220 they already have across 30 different countries - although 60% of these are located in North America.

The company claim that, so far, 700 million people worldwide have enjoyed the massive screen format.

Now they'll be hoping that Neo's final showdown with Agent Smith, as The Matrix trilogy comes to an end, is something that millions more people will want to don their 3D specs for.