Atlanta to finally go IMAX at Atlantic Station?

For years Atlanta's only source of IMAX films inside the perimeter has been at Fernbank, which restricts its selections to lavish nature films. Moviegoers wanting to see the likes of Avatar on a super-big screen have had to venture out to the Mall of Georgia or, more recently, AMC Barrett Commons and AMC Southlake Pavilion. (Cinema purists, incidentally, accuse Barrett Commons of presenting a "fake IMAX" screen smaller than IMAX fans have come to expect.) That might change when Regal Cinemas completes plans to open an IMAX theater at Atlantic Station. According to a new press release:

IMAX Corp. and Regal Entertainment Group today announced an expansion of the companies' joint venture agreement to include installation of an additional 16 to 25 new IMAX theatres in the United States. As part of the agreement, Regal also plans to upgrade eight of its existing film-based IMAX theatres with IMAX's digital projection technology.The companies intend to open up the new joint venture theatres by the end of 2012 in U.S. markets including such cities as Albuquerque, NM, Eugene, OR, Charlottesville, VA and Atlanta, GA.

So perhaps we'll get to see the theoretical Avatar 2 in IMAX without driving to Buford.