FOR SUMMER '04: HARRY POTTER AND THE GIANT-SCREEN RELEASE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Fans of the Harry Potter film franchise will have the option of seeing the young boy wizard and his friends in a regular theater or on screens eight stories high and 120 feet wide when ``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' hits theaters in June.

Warner Bros. and IMAX Corp. announced Thursday that ``Azkaban'' will be the next film to be remastered for the giant screen using IMAX's DMR process, which allows for a movie to be enlarged for an IMAX screen without compromising picture quality.

The two companies joined together this year to release ``The Matrix Reloaded'' and ``The Matrix Revolutions'' on IMAX screens. ``Revolutions'' made movie industry history by becoming the first live-action feature film to open on IMAX screens and in conventional theaters on the same day.

The economics for these films are becoming more and more attractive for studios and exhibitors, since the cost of converting a film to the IMAX format is $2 million to $4 million.

``Our partnership with IMAX has been extremely rewarding and has allowed our films to expand their reach beyond our traditional audiences by offering viewers a whole new way to see Hollywood event films that is uniquely immersive and exciting,'' said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution.

Fellman said that, besides ``Azkaban,'' the studio is discussing an IMAX 3D release of ``Polar Express'' in November 2004, and an IMAX DMR release of ``Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' in the summer of 2005.

IMAX co-chairmen and CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler released a joint statement Thursday, stating that the Potter film was another indication that IMAX is achieving its goal of bringing major Hollywood event films to IMAX theaters ``which we believe is key to expanding the IMAX network around the world.''

David Heyman, producer of the Potter film series, which includes 2001's ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' and 2002's ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,'' expressed excitement about the latest chapter getting the IMAX treatment.

``When (director) Alfonso Cuaron and I saw IMAX DMR, we knew we had to release this film in IMAX theaters, as it will bring a whole new perspective to this magical story,'' Heyman said.

Fans have so far been willing to pay the extra $3 or so that it costs to see a new release on the giant IMAX screen, with its 12,000 watts of surround sound.

With well-received giant screen versions of ``Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'' and ``Apollo 13'' leading the way, the IMAX Corp. in 2002 reported its first profitable year since 1999 as the Toronto-based company began to retrofit more major studio films to play in its big screen venues.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com