IMAX RETURNS TO VALENCIA BIG SCREEN TO BE REINSTALLED.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

VALENCIA - The IMAX Corp. announced Wednesday it will reinstall its giant-screen systems at five theaters nationwide, including the Edwards Cinemas on Valencia's Town Center Drive.

The move comes more than a year after the bankrupt Edwards Theatre Circuit Inc. severed its ties with IMAX, in part because the features weren't drawing audiences, officials said at the time.

IMAX has since created new technology that enables the conversion of Hollywood live-action films into the image and sound quality of an IMAX film.

The first two films to undergo the conversion are ``Apollo 13'' and ``Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.''

After the systems are installed at the five theaters in California, Texas and Pennsylvania, Regal Entertainment Group - which acquired Edwards and United Artists this year - will operate 11 IMAX theaters, more than any other third-party operator in the world.

At the time of the closure, Edwards officials said that moviegoers didn't want the high-tech specialty films that IMAX is known for, including the three-dimensional screen tours offered by ``Galapagos'' and ``Everest.''

IMAX officials countered that Edwards failed to market its IMAX theaters, leading to the closure of the huge screens at complexes in Valencia, Orange County, Fresno, Houston and Boise, Idaho.

The IMAX theater was highly touted as a regional draw to Town Center Drive when it opened about four years ago.

As of June, there were more than 225 IMAX theaters operating in 30 countries.