MUMBAI: In a far-reaching deal with Warner Bros, IMAX has decided to screen the opening nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness in IMAX 3D this December but it also ensured that twenty of Warner Bros. Pictures‘ films would arrive on IMAX screens in the coming years.

Observed IMAX President Greg Foster, "It‘s more moving the ball forward. Continuing to solidify all of our relationships; we have a unique relationship with Warner Bros. but have unique relationships with all the studios."

Foster sees Warner Bros. as a studio that perfectly aligns with the IMAX brand and business model. "Warner Bros. has a very specific strategy for the past ten years that plays specifically to our brand," averred Foster. "They‘re in the tentpole business. Whether it‘s the Harry Potter franchise or the Batman franchise or the Hobbit franchise or the Superman franchise — those are the movies that are right up in our wheelhouse."

WB‘s announcement named a handful of event titles lined up for IMAX‘s signature digital remastering process, including Jack the Giant Slayer, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, 300: Rise of an Empire, Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity, The Seventh Son, and next year‘s Hobbit sequel, The Desolation of Smaug.

IMAX and Warner Bros. set up a similar deal in 2010, and like that collaboration, IMAX is still free to bring the films of other studios to the large screen format. "We‘ve got two movies from Lionsgate: Ender‘s Game and Catching Fire," said Foster. "We have movies with Disney, one that we‘ve announced and others we haven‘t announced and are pursuing and making work, and I think we probably will. We have Star Trek [Into Darkness]. We‘ve had an incredible run with Sony for Bond right now. We‘ve got Oblivion and Jurassic Park for Universal — it‘s a big marketplace. "