Imax CEO Impact of Hollywood Strikes, Pandemic Firmly Behind Us

For Imax CEO Richard Gelfond, the affect of final yr’s Hollywood strikes and a lingering pandemic is within the rearview mirror.

“With the strikes — and the lingering results of the pandemic — firmly behind us, we’re in a wonderful place to completely understand the advantages of our robust, asset-lite enterprise mannequin,” Gelfond advised analysts throughout a morning convention name after his firm launched its second-quarter monetary outcomes with a income and gross sales dip.

That optimism can be a balm to high execs at main exhibitors, who’re Imax’s most important clients for its theater techniques and have confronted a disaster of confidence after theater shutdowns throughout the top of the pandemic and after final yr’s Los Angeles writers and actors strikes disrupted their film pipeline.

“We consider we have now reached a pivot level within the post-strike rebound, given surging demand for the Imax expertise amongst filmmakers, studios and audiences worldwide. We stand on the verge of a particularly thrilling time for our enterprise,” Gelfond added.

The power of Hollywood’s field workplace restoration within the wider exhibition trade was underlined on the movie applied sciences firm, whilst general income fell 9 % to $89 million, in comparison with a yr in the past income of $98 million, with earnings of $3.4 million, down 57 % from a $8.4 million revenue in 2023.

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 — having turn into the top-grossing Hollywood animated movie of all time on the worldwide field workplace — did huge numbers on Imax screens in June. That helped Imax put up international field workplace of $196.4 million within the second quarter after the June surge of film releases.

Different second-quarter field workplace performers for Imax included Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. “I do assume (20)25 goes to be a way more optimistic yr. The strike is farther behind us. And the truth that the pandemic is just about over on the planet means even conventional exhibitors taking part in conventional films do higher,” Gelfond forecast.

Additionally throughout the second quarter, Imax offered its unique documentary The Blue Angels, about the Blue Angels pilots of the U.S. Navy, to Amazon Prime Video. The movie over its first week earned greater than $2.2 million on Imax screens and delivered the highest-grossing theatrical documentary opening of the yr up to now for the corporate. That got here forward of a industrial launch for The Blue Angels in Imax institutional theaters set for 2025.

As a measure of future enterprise development, throughout the second quarter Imax mentioned it put in 24 theater techniques, in comparison with 20 techniques within the year-earlier interval. Gelfond raised his forecast for full-year 2024 new or upgraded theater installations to 130, from 120, throughout the analyst name.

The improved steerage follows Chinese language exhibitor Wanda Movie, Imax’s largest exhibition accomplice worldwide, unveiling a brand new deal to improve 61 theaters. Wanda has 381 Imax areas in operation throughout China — and one other 19 already on the way in which.

Imax mentioned it ended the newest quarter with its 1,705 theater areas worldwide, up 4 % from a yr earlier, and had a backlog of 504 Imax theater techniques.

Imax has an enormous profile in China, and Gelfond was upbeat about that main worldwide marketplace for Hollywood and native films because it additionally tries to pivot away from the affect of the lingering pandemic. “We’re very inspired by the upcoming content material slate in China, and we consider the market is on the cusp of a rebound,” he advised analysts.

However whereas bullish on the field workplace forecast for China, Gelfond cautioned Imax has much less visibility about that Asian market as Hollywood films are allowed in and dated by native authorities. That’s in distinction to the U.S. market the place Imax is in shut contact and collaboration with main studio suppliers.

On the choice content material entrance, Imax and NBCUniversal signed a deal to carry dwell protection of the Olympic Video games opening ceremony on July 26 to greater than 150 giant-screen theaters within the U.S. as ticketed occasions. Gelfond advised analysts that superstars Celine Dion and Girl Gaga will carry out on the Paris Summer time Video games launch and be seen on super-sized Imax screens.