Fans Welcomed Return Of “The Polar Express” This Holiday Season, Driving Total Theatrical Box-Office Past $300 Million And Strong DVD Sales Worldwide

(January 9, 2006 - Burbank, CA) – "The Polar Express," which debuted in theaters November 2004, dazzled new and repeat fans in an IMAX re-release this holiday season, powering cumulative worldwide theatrical box office well beyond the $300 million mark. The Christmas favorite from Warner Bros. Pictures and Steve Bing’s Shangri-La Entertainment was also the top-selling family DVD for three weeks following its Thanksgiving week release. "The Polar Express: An IMAX 3D Experience" re-opened November 2005 in select IMAX theaters throughout the U.S. and international markets. In a repeat of last year’s record-breaking performance, the film drew seven-week figures of $10,444,714 domestically and $13,012,807 worldwide, including IMAX’s highest-grossing weekend ever, pushing total box-office receipts to $307,018,165 this weekend. Concurrently, the film’s U.S. DVD release on November 22 posted extremely robust sales to bring the worldwide consumer units sold, to date, to 10 million, as shoppers added this family favorite to their home libraries or shared as gifts. “If ever a movie deserved an encore, it’s 'The Polar Express,'” says Warner Bros. Pictures’ President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution Dan Fellman, citing the tremendous impression 'Polar' made on audiences in its theatrical debut last year and its ever-growing popularity. “We are proud and pleased to see how people have embraced this wonderful movie and are making it a part of their holiday traditions with friends and family.” Ron Sanders, President of Warner Home Video, adds, “'The Polar Express' is on track to be one of our biggest-selling family titles ever as it becomes a bonafide perennial holiday favorite.” From the Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump," "Cast Away"), "The Polar Express" is an inspiring adventure based on the beloved Caldecott Medal children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg about a doubting young boy who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. Sony Pictures Imageworks, with senior visual effects supervisors Ken Ralston, a five-time Oscar winner, and Jerome Chen, a 2000 nominee, helped bring this enchanting holiday story vividly to life in full CG animation through a brand new system called Performance Capture, Imageworks’ next-generation motion capture process. This innovative technique allows the actors’ live-action performances to drive the emotions and movements of the digital characters in a way never seen before, throwing open the door to a whole new era of freedom and creative options for actors and filmmakers. Combining classic storytelling with cutting-edge filmmaking, "The Polar Express" was the first feature ever to be shot entirely in this format. Castle Rock Entertainment Presents, in Association with Shangri-La Entertainment, a Playtone / ImageMovers / Golden Mean Production of a Robert Zemeckis Film: Tom Hanks in "The Polar Express." Directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Zemeckis & William Broyles, Jr., the film is produced by Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Gary Goetzman and William Teitler and is based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg. Tom Hanks, Jack Rapke and Chris Van Allsburg are the executive producers. The production team includes directors of photography Don Burgess, A.S.C. and Robert Presley; production designers Rick Carter and Doug Chiang; and editors Jeremiah O’Driscoll & R. Orlando Duenas. Senior visual effects supervisors are Ken Ralston and Jerome Chen. Co-producer is Steven Boyd. Music score is by Alan Silvestri, and original songs by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri. "The Polar Express" is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Soundtrack album on Warner Sunset/Reprise Records. This film is rated G by the MPAA. www.polarexpressmovie.com # # #