Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert documentary "Shine a Light" will be livin' large.
When Paramount Classics opens the film Friday in roughly 270 theaters domestically, 93 of those will be large-format Imax theaters, which bring larger-sized ticket prices. In many markets, the film will be playing exclusively on Imax screens, meaning it won't be shown in regular theaters.
That's the biggest opening in Imax's history after "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which opened simultaneously in 91 Imax screens and in more than 3,000 regular theaters. Film will subsequently open in international Imax locations.
An Imax ticket costs more -- as does each print of the film -- meaning added revenues for the exhib and the studio. In the case of "Shine a Light," an adult ticket will cost $13, while a kid's ticket will cost $10.50.
The appeal of Imax is its quality of image and sound, according to Scorsese.
"Imax puts you right in the center of every action and every move -- it's as if you are right there onstage with the band," Scorsese said. "I've always loved looking at Imax, but to see these images of the Rolling Stones on the biggest canvas is something else altogether."
"Shine a Light" was digitally remastered using Imax technology.
Producing partners on the film are Steve Bing's Shangri-La Entertainment and Concert Productions Intl.
Scorsese and the producers of "Shine a Light" always had an eye towarda big play on Imax screens but wanted to make sure the film could also be made available in markets where there are no Imax locations.
Imax will have exclusive runs of the concert doc in half of its markets; in the remaining markets, the film will play in both Imax and 35mms, including in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Toronto.
This year has already seen two concert films hit the bigscreen, both of them in 3-D ("Shine a Light" is not 3-D).
Disney's "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" became a runaway box office hit, grossing more than $31 million from only 683 digital 3-D screens in its opening to cume $64.8 million domestically.
Like Par Classics, National Geographic Films relied heavily on Imax films when unspooling concert docu "U2 3D" earlier this year. For the first two weekends, the film played on 61 Imax screens exclusively before hitting regular theaters. Film grossed $7.2 million domestically.
Contact Pamela McClintock at
pamela.mcclintock@variety.com