General atmosphere during a private IMAX screening for the film “First Man” in an AMC theater in New York on October 10, 2018.
Lars Niki | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty images
More than a year before “F1: The Movie” would eventually arrive in theaters, Apple conclude an agreement with Imax.
The studio obtained the use of IMAX’s camera technology as well as a three -week release in its theaters, a partnership that helped the film generate nearly $ 300 million worldwide during its first 10 days in cinemas.
More than 20% of this transport came from IMAX projections. In the United States and Canada, the company’s theaters have represented 25% of all national ticket sales for the film. This feat is made even more impressive by the fact that IMAX screens represent less than 1% of the total film screens in the world.
Two other films published this year have exceeded 20% market share for the company – Warner Bros. ‘ “Sinners” and Paramount “Mission: Impossible – the last calculation.”
It is a sign of strength for the place of IMAX in the rapidly evolving film industry.
IMAX has long been a coveted destination for theatrical outings, but as consumer tastes continue to move to premium experiences, it quickly gains market share and ready to exponential in the years to come.
The CEO Rich Gelfond plans a year of $ 1.2 billion in the world box for the company, which would be 33% more than the transport of 2024 and a record for the 55 -year -old company. Wall Street analysts expect 2026 to be even better.
“Many post-countryic activities, in particular the activities of the event, have done really well [for] Premium brands, “Gelfond told CNBC.” You look at the concerts, ticket prices have increased. Premium seats have increased. You look at sporting events, the same kind of thing. Broadway. I think people, although they like to stay at home, streaming and looking at streaming products when they get out of the house, they want something sufficient from this. “”
Investors rallied behind the IMAX shares. The company’s shares have increased by around 60% in the last 12 months.
IMAX screens are significantly larger than standard film screens and theaters have immersive audio systems. The company is not satisfied with the films, many films that appear in IMAX have been filmed using cameras and technology developed by the company specifically adapted to the IMAX visualization experience.
“This year, we have eight consecutive films in North America that have been filmed with IMAX cameras, and generally the box office goes higher when you turn with the cameras,” said Gelfond. “And there are a few reasons for that. One is a better way to look at it and listen to it. But also, the filmmakers generally take it more, and they tell their audience that it is the best way to see their work. And I think it is a powerful momentum for the public to go to Imax.”
These titles “filmed for IMAX” include features like “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan, the films “Dune” by Denis Villeneuve and even the last film “Mission: Impossible” by Tom Cruise.
Tickets to see a film in IMAX usually cost a few dollars more than standard cinema tickets, which can help stimulate a box office bean.
“The more the Tired titles for IMAX ‘, the more you saw on the film for the titles Imax,” said Alicia Reese, analyst at Wedbush. “Better still, the margins will be. As you see the margins improve in 2025, you will see not only the best quality title signatures in 2026, but what I expect to see is that the studios will take more possession of marketing campaigns with even more increase.”
General views of TCL Chinese Theater promoting the new film by Tom Cruise “Mission: Impossible The Final Recking” in Imax on May 23, 2025 in Hollywood, California.
Aaronp / Bauer-Griffin | Images GC | Getty images
The manager of Eric de Roth said that Imax had a “high class problem with too much content availability”.
The “F1” agreement for three weeks of screen programming meant that “Jurassic World Rebirth” was preceded: the film failed an IMAX national release and was only presented on IMAX screens in China. This film will also appear in IMAX screens in Japan next month.
At the national level, the film Slate Is Strong is 2025 and 2026, with a number of major franchise films outings in books. Warner Bros. ‘”Superman” will be released in theaters on Friday, and to come Disney And “Fantastic Four: Fantastic Four: First Steps” by Marvel. Then, “Wicked: For Good” from Universal arrives before the Thanksgiving holidays and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” from Disney arrives in theaters just before Christmas.
2026 starts with Amazon “Project Hail Mary” and will also offer a new Avengers film, the first Star Wars theatrical release since 2019, a series of “Super Mario Bros.” film “, a” Moana “live as well as” Toy Story 5 “and” Shrek 5. “And also in the mixture is the next feature film of Nolan” The Odyssey “.
The new versions of Hollywood are only one piece of the success of the Imax box office.
“Not only do they benefit from the resumption of Hollywood, but they also take advantage of the global footprint and showing local language films in China, Japan and South Korea and parts of Europe,” said Eric Handler, analyst at Roth.
He noted that “Ne Zha 2”, a Chinese version which generated more than $ 2 billion in world ticket sales, was a particularly strong local film for Imax. The company has generated nearly $ 170 million in the film’s screening.
And there is still room for Imax to grow.
The company currently has around 1,700 screens worldwide, including around 400 in North America. Gelfond told CNBC that the company had contracts to build around 500 additional IMAX screens.
He said that the company would share more specific details during its report on results, which should be published later this month.
“We have signed almost as many new theaters this year that we signed for the whole year last year,” said Gelfond. “So there is a lot of growth.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of Nbcuniversal and CNBC.