Warner Bros., IMAX to create virtual reality experiences for ‘Justice League,’ ‘Aquaman’ – MarketWatch

Virtual reality: Coming to a theater near you sort of.

The home entertainment division of Time Warner Inc.s TWX, +0.36% Warner Bros. film studio said on Tuesday its reached a co-financing and production agreement with IMAX Corp. IMAX, +0.07% to develop and release three interactive VR experiences based on upcoming films: Justice League, Aquaman and a third that has yet to be announced.

The companies plan to launch an experience a year, beginning with Justice League in late 2017. All the VR experiences will have an exclusive window in IMAX VR centres before being available on other in-home and mobile VR platforms.

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A key component of our vision for VR is to help usher in the first wave of high-end blockbuster-based content, IMAX Chief Executive Richard Gelfond said in a statement. This type of premium content will introduce audiences to virtual reality in stand-alone and multiplex-based IMAX VR centres as well as other platforms.

The Enhance Games suit allows people to experience and play videogames with their entire body. The prototype was launched at "The Wow Factory", an innovation lab organized by Sony at SXSW.

The Warner Bros. and IMAX partnership comes as studios and cinemas find themselves asking how can they improve and innovate the moviegoing experience to continue to compete for audiences time, attention and dollars. Theater admissions were down last year compared with 2015, and though the box office saw a record year in revenue for the second year in a row, admissions havent been able to reach record levels set in 2002, according to data from the National Association of Theatre Owners.

IMAXs VR Centres are facilities designed specifically for VR experiences, with room-tracking technology allowing participants to explore a virtual space. This isnt your friends living room, reads the companys website.

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With its flagship pilot location in Los Angeles, IMAX is planning to open at least five others across New York City, California, the U.K. and Shanghai in the next few months. There would be a testing period for customer experience and pricing. The company said in its L.A. center, which opened in January, is off to a strong start and if the other locations are successful the plan is to roll the VR Centre concept out globally to select multiplexes and commercial locations, such as shopping centers and tourist locations.

IMAX shares have gained 13% in the trailing 12-month period, while shares of Time Warner are up 34%. By comparison, the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.08% is up 15%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.20% is up 17% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.22% is up more than 22% during the same period.

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Warner Bros., IMAX to create virtual reality experiences for 'Justice League,' 'Aquaman' - MarketWatch