Everest Becomes Highest Grossing Documentary of All Time

Laguna Beach, CA---Marking an historic achievement in the filmindustry, MacGillivray Freeman Films' Everest has amassed over$120.6 million in worldwide box office (earning $84.4 million in theU.S. and Canada alone), making it the highest grossing documentary andgiant screen film of all time.

Everest, which has been in continual release since March 6,1998, breaks the previous record held by To Fly!, also producedand distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films, which has grossed $115.7million since its release on July 1, 1976. To Fly! grossed thisamount over a twenty-five year period, while Everest surpassedthis record in just under five years.

Everest, directed by Greg MacGillivray, Stephen Judson, andDavid Breashears, and produced by MacGillivray, Judson and AlecLorimore, set all records for the giant screen format by grossing $100million in under two years and becoming the first giant screen film toappear on Variety's Top 10 Box Office Chart next to such featureblockbusters as Titanic and Godzilla. Making it all themore remarkable, Everest reached its current milestone afterplaying in only 243 theatres worldwide in a total of 236 cities on sixcontinents, giving EVEREST an unprecedented per-screen average of$496,296.

Even with fewer than 300 large format screens available worldwide, amajority of giant screen films such as Everest and ToFly! routinely surpass successful feature documentaries such asBowling For Columbine, Buena Vista Social Club, Roger& Me and Hoop Dreams in both theatrical attendance andbox office grosses. Giant screen films have grossed an estimated $4billion, evidence of the popular appeal of these films.

MacGillivray Freeman's next giant screen film release is CoralReef Adventure (February 14, 2003). Directed by MacGillivray,Coral Reef Adventure is the dramatic story of a husband and wifeteam of underwater cinematographers, Howard & Michele Hall, on a10-month expedition to document in 70mm film the endangered coral reefsof the South Pacific. Jean-Michel Cousteau also appears in the film,which was filmed in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Tahiti,Moorea and Rangiroa. Featuring songs written and recorded by Crosby,Stills & Nash and narrated by Liam Neeson, Coral ReefAdventure is MacGillivray's third mission-driven oceanic film. Hisfirst two, The Living Sea (1995) and Dolphins(2000) eachreceived an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary ShortSubject.

"Everest became a cultural phenomenon that captured theattention of the entire world, not only because of the tragic stormthat cost eight lives, but because this was a film people connected toemotionally," noted MacGillivray. "It reminded me of the public'sreaction after seeing To Fly! over twenty-five years ago. Eachfilm instilled a powerful emotion in people. The success of both filmsis testament also to the great story-telling power and unique immersiveexperience of the IMAX theatre medium."

When To Fly! was released in 1976 there were only four IMAXtheatres in the world, located at San Diego's Reuben H. Fleet ScienceCenter, Toronto's Ontario Place, Cedar Point Amusement Park inSandusky, Ohio, and Circus World in Orlando. The film's immediatesuccess was credited with spurring on a spree of IMAX theatreconstruction across North America as museum directors realized thepotential for such films to increase attendance and revenue. Twenty-twoyears later, Everest was credited with having a similargalvanizing effect on the industry. When Everest opened therewere 200 large format theatres around the world, but two years later100 new theatres were either under construction or slated to bebuilt.

Narrated by Liam Neeson and featuring songs by George Harrison,Everest is the awe-inspiring story of three climbers who reachedthe summit of Mt. Everest in 1996, the year a tragic storm took thelives of eight people attempting to climb the mountain.

To Fly! was directed and produced by MacGillivray FreemanFilms for Francis Thompson Inc. and sponsored by Conoco. Anexhilarating chronicle of man's fascination with flight, To Fly!premiered as the centerpiece of the Smithsonian Institution's grandopening celebrations for the National Air and Space Museum, where ithas played non-stop for over twenty-five years, making To Fly!the longest-running ticketed film in one location in film history.

Everest and To Fly! have been honored with numerousnational and international filmmaking awards. In 1996, the Library ofCongress selected To Fly! for inclusion in the prestigiousNational Film Registry as one of the most important films of thetwentieth century. In 1998, Everest received three Maximum ImageAwards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Score.

MacGillivray Freeman Films has been producing motion pictures forforty years and is the world's leading producer and distributor offilms for IMAX theatres and large format cinemas. Combined,MacGillivray Freeman Films' giant screen films have grossed over $650million at the box office worldwide.

Launched in 1963 by Greg MacGillivray and the late Jim Freeman, andbased in Laguna Beach, Calif., MacGillivray Freeman Films has beensetting the standard in giant screen filmmaking for more than twodecades. MacGillivray is well-known for his artistic and technicalinnovations in the giant format. He has initiated the development ofthree new IMAX cameras-the high-speed (slow-motion) camera, theindustry's first lightweight camera, and the "all-weather" camera usedduring filming on Mt. Everest. MacGillivray Freeman Films has receivedhundreds of national and international awards including two AcademyAward nominations, and currently has thirty films in its distributionlibrary.