One week after Dolby announced plans to give The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey a Dolby Atmos mix, the company says it will share its wealth of sound technology with three more upcoming theatrical releases.
Rise of the Guardians will be the sixth Dolby Atmos title -- although technically, it's hitting theaters before The Hobbit. The DreamWorks Animation feature will be released in Dolby Atmos on November 21st, 2012. We can also expect to see Gravity and Pacific Rim get the audio format in 2013.
Dolby Atmos first made its debut in June 2012, with Disney-Pixar's Brave. Last month, Dolby announced plans to have the format accompany limited releases of the Liam Neeson action flick Taken 2 and the true-life surfer tale Chasing Mavericks. Rise of the Guardians will make its Dolby Atmos debut on November 21, 2012, which is the same day as Ang Lee's Life of Pi, a previously announced Atmos title.
Promising a more natural and realistic soundfield that moves sound around and above audiences, Dolby Atmos has the capability to support up to 64 discrete channels of sound.
Rise of the Guardians brings together Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost under one DreamWorks Animation tale. Jim Bolt will mix the soundtrack, with Oscar winners Andy Nelson and Richard King.
Oscar nominees Skip Lievsay and Glenn Freemantle will work alongside Niv Adiri for 2013's Gravity. The film stars Sandra Bullock as a medical engineer that gets lost in space with George Clooney. Warner Bros. has yet to announced a release date for the drama.
Scheduled for July 12, 2013, Pacific Rim will feature sea monsters, robots, fighter pilots, and Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam. Oscar winners John T. Reitz and Greg Rudloff will work with Tim LeBlanc and Scott Gershin on that mix.
"We have seen tremendous support for Dolby Atmos and we are excited to have DreamWorks Animation become the fourth Hollywood studio to adopt the format with Rise of the Guardians, our sixth Dolby Atmos title scheduled for 2012," said Stuart Bowling, Dolby's senior technical marketing manager for cinema. "The Dolby Atmos slate for 2013 is also growing with two blockbuster titles from Warner Bros. including Gravity and Pacific Rim confirmed. We look to grow the Dolby Atmos content pipeline for exhibitors as our goal is to reach over 15 titles in 2013."
Dolby has previously said that it plans to have between 80 and 100 screens available for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Exact locations will be announced closer to the film's release date, via the Dolby Atmos website. Locations for Rise of the Guardians, Gravity and Pacific Rim will also be announced closer to their respective release dates.
Dolby plans to install another 30 to 50 Atmos-capable screens in the first quarter of 2013, and have as many as 1,000 Dolby Atmos screens in place by the end of next year.
Read More About Dolby Atmos:
