Imax

Imax Corp., the maker of giant-screen movie systems, said box-office revenue rose 45 percent this year through Feb. 12 from the same period in 2011. The Ontario company said worldwide receipts at Imax cinemas totaled $55 million. About half of that was from the Tom Cruise movie "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," which has grossed $70 million at Imax theaters since December.

One of my former BU students emailed me last night to say that he read my earlier posting on the shamefully poor projection practices at your average movie theater chain, but only after his own shabby experience. He writes: I caught an afternoon showing of " The Avengers " today at the AMC Common, and boy does it make me want to invest in my home entertainment system. Not only was the framing a little bit off (lopping most characters at the hairline), they never bothered to turn on the subwoofer in the theater.

Eastman Kodak Co. said Sunday that it will license thousands of patents to Imax in a deal that will supply the troubled photography company with millions of dollars. A person familiar with the agreement, but not authorized to speak with the media, said the initial deal is worth tens of millions of dollars. The agreement includes additional payments if certain milestones are met, along with patent royalties, the person said. Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak has struggled in recent years as consumers shifted to digital cameras and away from traditional film.

"To the Arctic 3D," the latest IMAX nature documentary from Warner Brothers, stars Meryl Streep as a real live polar bear. OK, I made that up. But do any of us doubt that she could have played the mama bear if she had wanted to, with a growl every bit as convincing as her Oscar-winning Margaret Thatcher? Instead, Streep merely narrates this film — straight on, doing her best with pious lines aimed at Prius owners — and we are left to wonder what she might have made of a script that was a better match for the unforced drama of its cinematography.

"To the Arctic 3D," the latest IMAX nature documentary from Warner Brothers, stars Meryl Streep as a real live polar bear. OK, I made that up. But do any of us doubt that she could have played the mama bear if she had wanted to, with a growl every bit as convincing as her Oscar-winning Margaret Thatcher? Instead, Streep merely narrates this film — straight on, doing her best with pious lines aimed at Prius owners — and we are left to wonder what she might have made of a script that was a better match for the unforced drama of its cinematography.

To say Americans have a misinformed view of Saudi Arabians is an understatement. As rabid individualists, we can’t fathom the apparently conformist dress. We see millions praying at the holy city of Mecca and blink uncomprehendingly. Many find the culture vaguely unsettling, if not threatening. “After 9/11, many of my friends in America think we’re all extremists,’’ says Hamzah Jamjoom, a Saudi and co-narrator of “Arabia,’’ the latest dazzling IMAX travelogue documentary to hit the big, big screen.

One of my former BU students emailed me last night to say that he read my earlier posting on the shamefully poor projection practices at your average movie theater chain, but only after his own shabby experience. He writes: I caught an afternoon showing of " The Avengers " today at the AMC Common, and boy does it make me want to invest in my home entertainment system. Not only was the framing a little bit off (lopping most characters at the hairline), they never bothered to turn on the subwoofer in the theater.

Movie theater company shares took a hit following downgrades from a Janney Capital Markets analyst lamenting a recent drop in 3-D movie attendance. IMAX Corp. was among the companies that declined, although “Transformers’’ set a record in the IMAX widescreen format over the weekend. The analyst downgraded Regal Entertainment to “sell’’ from “neutral’’ and Cinemark to “neutral’’ from “buy.’’

Everyone has a reason for taking one of those aquatic IMAX tours of the bottom of the ocean. You like marine biology. You enjoy the illusion of being within touching distance of so many deceptively complex creatures. You covet the plastic glasses. Whatever the reason, Howard Hall's "Under the Sea 3D" is here to inspire awe and depression with a vast universe of marine life that, barring possible ecological disaster, will be here eons after we're gone. Spent mostly in the Coral Triangle near New Guinea and later in the Great Barrier Reef, the movie serves as a primer of the creatures who dwell there.

AMC Theatres will open a 12-screen movie complex at Assembly Square in Somerville, becoming the first major retail tenant to commit to opening at the $1.5 billion development on the former industrial property. Developer Federal Realty Investment Trust said yesterday that the theater will be located on the third floor of a large retail building that will also include several restaurants and shops. It will replace a Loews theater that shut down next door in 2007. The new operation will be all digital projection and offer a range of seating options,...

This is the story of a Boston icon, the Mugar Omni Theater. This is also the story of a family, the Rivers clan of Sharon. Both just turned 25. And both began, you might say, when a woman named Mary Jane Dodge stepped into a hot tub in Florida in the mid-1980s. Dodge was one of the early pioneers of a new type of large-format film called IMAX, and she was in Florida to watch the filming of a space shuttle launch. That night, she went for a dip in the hotel hot tub and found a surprise hidden among the bubbles.

Imax Corp., the maker of giant-screen movie systems, said box-office revenue rose 45 percent this year through Feb. 12 from the same period in 2011. The Ontario company said worldwide receipts at Imax cinemas totaled $55 million. About half of that was from the Tom Cruise movie "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," which has grossed $70 million at Imax theaters since December.

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, down 72 cents at $13.25 The tire maker said it returned to profitability in its fourth quarter, but its results fell short of Wall Street expectations. Bank of America Corp., down 27 cents at $7.98 A Citi analyst lowered his rating on the bank saying he believes other analysts are too optimistic about its two-year profit growth.

IMAX will install its giant movie screens and digital sound systems in four more theaters in India as part of an expansion in one of the world's biggest film markets. The agreement announced Monday will bring the IMAX screens to new movie complexes operated in India by SPI Cinemas Private Limited. IMAX now has installed or reached deals to install its equipment in 13 theaters in India, which produces more than 1,000 films annually. India has become so immersed in film that its hub of movie production, Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay)

AMC Theatres will open a 12-screen movie complex at Assembly Square in Somerville, becoming the first major retail tenant to commit to opening at the $1.5 billion development on the former industrial property. Developer Federal Realty Investment Trust said yesterday that the theater will be located on the third floor of a large retail building that will also include several restaurants and shops. It will replace a Loews theater that shut down next door in 2007. The new operation will be all digital projection and offer a range of seating options, from box-style premium seats...

Imax Corp. said Tuesday that it plans to build two of its big-screen theaters in Jakarta, Indonesia through a deal with Indonesia's biggest movie theater chain, Cinema 21. Imax said the first digital theater is to be installed in Gandaria City, South Jakarta in May. The second is to be built in Jakarta by 2013. As of the end of September, Imax had 583 theaters operating in 48 countries. Imax shares fell 19 cents to close at $21.24.

This is the story of a Boston icon, the Mugar Omni Theater. This is also the story of a family, the Rivers clan of Sharon. Both just turned 25. And both began, you might say, when a woman named Mary Jane Dodge stepped into a hot tub in Florida in the mid-1980s. Dodge was one of the early pioneers of a new type of large-format film called IMAX, and she was in Florida to watch the filming of a space shuttle launch. That night, she went for a dip in the hotel hot tub and found a surprise hidden among the bubbles.

Can’t wait to see “Super 8’’? J.J. Abrams’ latest sci-fi thriller opens nationwide this Friday. But fans itching to see the Spielbergian summer blockbuster can sneak in a night early, thanks to a new partnership between Paramount Pictures and Twitter. For the first time a movie studio is teaming up with the social media platform to promote sneak peek screenings, hoping that moviegoers will create buzz by tweeting about the film (hashtag (hash)Super8Secret) ahead of its mass launch.

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Imax Corp., up $2.16 at $21.43 A Stifel Nicholas analyst upgraded the big-screen movie company to "Buy" saying that he expects a strong 2012 for the company. SuccessFactors Inc., up $13.50 at $39.75 The maker of software specializing in human resources tasks agreed to be sold to German software company SAP AG for $3.4 billion. MetLife Inc., up $1.16 at $32.92 The life insurer expects to report higher operating earnings for 2011 that nevertheless...

HUBBLE With Sharif Sehnaoui At: BCA Plaza Theater, Wednesday, 9 p.m. Free. www.bcaonline.org About a year ago, New York-based guitarist Ben Greenberg began spending days zoning out at an IMAX theater, watching enormous celestial structures drift by overhead in the long-running "Hubble" film. He'd begun work on music for a solo project that took everything he'd developed to that point and stripped it to its essentials, and the widescreen astronomy showcased in the film seemed eerily familiar to him. "I saw it at least eight times," he says over the phone from Brooklyn, crossing streets and huddling...