BIG-SCREEN SHOWTIMES A HIT FOR 'APOLLO'.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

The launch of ``Apollo 13'' in the IMAX large-screen format has drawn strong business in its first two weeks of release, which could bode well for ``Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'' when it bows on IMAX screens next month.

``Apollo 13: The IMAX Experience'' is playing in nine locations and last week had among the highest per-screen average ($10,172) of all films in the marketplace in limited or wide release. The IMAX version of the film has grossed a total of $456,534 to date.

Box office analysts said Tuesday that the total is especially impressive given that the film is 7 years old and has already had widespread exposure through home video and cable television.

``The fact that 99 percent of the people in the audience have seen it before, it tells you that the allure of the IMAX version is very strong,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.

The 1995 film about the ill-fated 13th Apollo moon mission is the first 35mm live-action film to be transformed into an IMAX presentation, in which films are shown on screens that are eight stories high and 120 feet wide.

When ``Apollo 13'' was released by Universal Pictures in its original format, it grossed $172 million domestically and was nominated for nine Academy Awards including best picture. The $2 million-plus transformation to IMAX was done with a digital remastering process called DMR technology and was performed with input from ``Apollo 13'' director Ron Howard.

Richard Gelfond, co-chief executive officer of IMAX Corp., said the company is ``very pleased'' with the film's initial performance but stressed that the reformated film is destined to play for decades both in regular venues and science theaters.

``Our DMR strategy is based on giving long-term shelf life to Hollywood films and 'Apollo 13' looks like the kind of IMAX film that will play for years to come,'' Gelfond said.

Even more is expected in terms of box office buzz when Yoda and company hit IMAX theaters Nov. 1. ``Clones,'' from Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox, was originally released in May and has grossed more than $300 million so far domestically. The IMAX unveiling precedes the movie's Nov. 12 home-video release.

``It will be interesting because it's newer and it has so many cult fans attached to it, I think it will draw a lot more people than 'Apollo 13''' said Robert Bucksbaum, president of ReelSource Inc., a box office research market firm. ```Star Wars' has so many die-hard fans that are looking for anything different.'''

In August, IMAX retained the services of Creative Arts Agency to help secure deals with major studios to remaster 35mm films in an effort to position itself as a distribution avenue for some films that would debut in IMAX format on the same day as regular theaters.

``IMAX will find interesting revenue sources to pull out of the big-screen format,'' Bucksbaum said. ``The big question is: Which direction will it go in? If you release a film along with regular theater format, I think that's the wave of the future.''

Disney, which initially found IMAX success when it reformated its classic animated films ``Beauty and the Beast'' and ``Fantasia,'' is making the unprecedented move of releasing its holiday film ``Treasure Planet'' simultaneously in regular theaters as well as IMAX and other large-screen theaters.

``There are so few new innovations to excite moviegoers because we've seen it all: wide screen, digital projection, digital sound and, most importantly and simply, stadium seating,'' Dergarabedian said. ``So this is yet another way to expand the presentation of cinema into a new realm.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Despite being readily available on home video for years, ``Apollo 13'' has drawn paying customers in its IMAX release.