Imax CEO Says Impact of Hollywood Strikes, Pandemic Is “Firmly Behind Us”

Etan Vlessing
4-min read

For Imax CEO Richard Gelfond, the impact of last year’s Hollywood strikes and a lingering pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

“With the strikes — and the lingering effects of the pandemic — firmly behind us, we are in an excellent position to fully realize the benefits of our strong, asset-lite business model,” Gelfond told analysts during a morning conference call after his company released its second-quarter financial results with a revenue and sales dip.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

That optimism will be a balm to top execs at major exhibitors, who are Imax’s main customers for its theater systems and have faced a crisis of confidence after theater shutdowns during the height of the pandemic and after last year’s Los Angeles writers and actors strikes disrupted their movie pipeline.

“We believe we have reached a pivot point in the post-strike rebound, given surging demand for the Imax experience among filmmakers, studios and audiences worldwide. We stand on the verge of an extremely exciting time for our business,” Gelfond added.

The strength of Hollywood’s box office recovery in the wider exhibition industry was underlined at the film technologies company, even as overall revenue fell 9 percent to $89 million, compared to a year ago revenue of $98 million, with profits of $3.4 million, down 57 percent from a $8.4 million profit in 2023.

Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 — having become the top-grossing Hollywood animated film of all time at the worldwide box office — did big numbers on Imax screens in June. That helped Imax post global box office of $196.4 million in the second quarter after the June surge of movie releases.

Other second-quarter box office performers for Imax included Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. “I do think (20)25 is going to be a much more positive year. The strike is farther behind us. And the fact that the pandemic is pretty much over in the world means even traditional exhibitors playing traditional movies do better,” Gelfond forecast.

Also during the second quarter, Imax sold its original documentary The Blue Angels, about the Blue Angels pilots of the U.S. Navy, to Amazon Prime Video. The film over its first week earned more than $2.2 million on Imax screens and delivered the highest-grossing theatrical documentary opening of the year to date for the company. That came ahead of a commercial release for The Blue Angels in Imax institutional theaters set for 2025.

As a measure of future business growth, during the second quarter Imax said it installed 24 theater systems, compared to 20 systems in the year-earlier period. Gelfond raised his forecast for full-year 2024 new or upgraded theater installations to 130, from 120, during the analyst call.

The improved guidance follows Chinese exhibitor Wanda Film, Imax’s biggest exhibition partner worldwide, unveiling a new deal to upgrade 61 theaters. Wanda has 381 Imax locations in operation across China — and another 19 already on the way.

Imax said it ended the latest quarter with its 1,705 theater locations worldwide, up 4 percent from a year earlier, and had a backlog of 504 Imax theater systems.

Imax has a big profile in China, and Gelfond was upbeat about that major international market for Hollywood and local movies as it also tries to pivot away from the impact of the lingering pandemic. “We’re very encouraged by the upcoming content slate in China, and we believe the market is on the cusp of a rebound,” he told analysts.

But while bullish on the box office forecast for China, Gelfond cautioned Imax has less visibility about that Asian market as Hollywood movies are allowed in and dated by local authorities. That’s in contrast to the U.S. market where Imax is in close contact and collaboration with major studio suppliers.

On the alternative content front, Imax and NBCUniversal signed a deal to bring live coverage of the Olympic Games opening ceremony on July 26 to more than 150 giant-screen theaters in the U.S. as ticketed events. Gelfond told analysts that superstars Celine Dion and Lady Gaga will perform at the Paris Summer Games launch and be seen on super-sized Imax screens.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter