Analyst: Imax more essential to movie studio plans

Watch TV on PC - 12,000 TV Channels and Movies Associated Press, 11.19.08, 10:29 AM EST

Imax Corp.'s new five-movie deal with Walt Disney Co. indicates the large-screen format is becoming more essential to film studios' plans, an analyst said Wednesday.

Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) announced earlier Wednesday it will deliver five movies via Imax theaters beginning in November 2009 with the 3-D movie "A Christmas Carol," starring Jim Carrey.

Marla Backer of Soleil Securities Group Inc. said the Disney agreement, which follows a deal Imax signed with DreamWorks Animation SKG (nyse: DWA - news - people ) Inc., shows the studios understand they need to secure their spots with Imax before others do.

"With Disney, all of the major studios have recently released films or have upcoming titles on the Imax platform," she wrote in a client note.

A rise in popularity of 3-D movies is also helping Imax, Backer added, with two highly anticipated films, "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Avatar," set to run on Imax screens next year.

Shares of Imax gained 19 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $3.40 in morning trading. Over the past year, the stock has traded between $2.70 and $8.28.

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