'Dragon Gate' to screen in Imax 3D

BEIJING -- Hong Kong helmer Tsui Hark's 3D chopsocky epic "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" will show on Imax giant screens around China as well as standard 3D digital from Dec. 18, producers Bona Ent. said Thursday. The release date gives the pic, which will be the first Chinese film to screen in Imax 3D, a good run over the peak Christmas season. Pic, about a hunt for a missing concubine, features Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Li Yuchun, Kwai Lun-mei and Mavis Fan, and is co-produced by China Film Group, SMG Pictures, Shine Show Interactive Media and Bona. So far only Feng Xiaogang's "Aftershock" and the patriotic pic "Beginning of the Great Revival" have been given the Imax treatment in China. Neither was in 3D. The martial arts world that Tsui Hark creates in 3D is truly overwhelming, and we decide to present it in the large-screen format. With crystal-clear picture and Imax-approved stereo system in our theaters, this film will bring the ultimate sensation to the audience," said Don Savant, m.d. of Imax Asia-Pacific. Imax has been enormously successful in tapping the China market, making a breakthrough where other exhibitors have failed. In March, Imax signed a 75-theater revenue-sharing agreement with China's Wanda Cinema Line Corp. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com