BY PAMELA MCCLINTOCK | HollywoodReporter.Com
Troy Warren for CNT #Entertainment
Jackson, Imax and Disney have partnered on a special feature celebrating the iconic band’s last concert in 1969.
On Jan. 30, 1969, The Beatles staged their final live performance on the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters in London’s Savile Row.
In commemoration of the iconic event, Disney and Imax on Sunday unveiled a special theatrical version of Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back that played to near-sellout crowds in nearly 70 Imax theaters across North America and at the BFI Imax theater in London.
Sunday’s debut of the 60-minute film — which features the roughly 45-minute concert in its entirety — was accompanied by a live Q&A with Jackson and BBC broadcaster, author and musician Matt Everitt that was beamed into cinemas.
Jackson used footage from his eight-hour Beatles documentary series to create the larger-than-life presentation of the rooftop concert. The acclaimed series itself debuted on Disney+ over Thanksgiving.
According to Imax, a majority of Sunday’s locations were sold out in cities including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Charlotte, St. Paul, Pittsburgh, San Antonio and Cleveland. The special even generated roughly $500,000 in grosses.
The Beatles: Get Back — The Rooftop Performance will play exclusively in select Imax locations across the globe over the Feb. 11-13 weekend. The concert footage was digitally remastered with proprietary Imax technology.
“Peter Jackson edited this together so that you can see the concert in its full glory,” says Imax Entertainment president Megan Colligan. “And the turnout shows the power of coming together in a theater even though it’s on Disney+.”
Like other exhibitors, Imax is looking for ways to broaden its reach.
In early December, Imax partnered with Amazon Prime to stream the Kanye West and Drake concert live to 36 IMAX theaters in the U.S. and Canada. And also in December, Imax teamed with Apple and A24 for an exclusive one-day engagement of The Tragedy of Macbeth, followed by a Q&A with director Joel Coen and Frances McDormand. It held a similar event for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
