Holiday blockbusters like “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Gladiator II” and a re-release of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” helped lift profits and revenues at Imax during its fourth quarter. Revenues at the big screen company increased by 8% to $92.7 million, up from $86 million in the prior-year period. Net income at Imax more than doubled, topping out at $5 million compared to $2.5 million. Imax reported earnings per share of 27 cents, compared to 16 cents in the year-ago period.
However, Imax shares fell sharply in after-hours trading, dropping nearly 5% after the company failed to match Wall Street’s projections. Analysts were forecasting the company would post earnings of 29 cents per share and revenues of $104.8 million.
Imax’s CEO Richard Gelfond shrugged off the after-market dip, telling Variety “I don’t attribute it to anything. I don’t think it makes a difference.”
Popular on Variety
Moreover, he’s bullish about this calendar year. That’s because Imax has become synonymous with the kind of special-effects heavy films that dominate multiplexes, making it well positioned to benefit from any box office revival — a change in fortunes that’s been a long time coming for an exhibition business impacted by COVID and then a pair of Hollywood labor strikes. Even as it shared its year-end results, Imax was looking ahead to 2025, which will bring sequels to prominent franchises such as “Mission: Impossible,” “Jurassic World,” and “Avatar” that seem tailor-made for its premium screens. In 2025, Imax said it expects to deliver a record box office of more than $1.2 billion.
Many upcoming releases, including “Superman,” “F1,” and Marvel’s “Fantastic 4” were filmed with Imax cameras, which has historically helped goose ticket sales at the company’s venues.
“Demand for Imax among studios is at an all-time high; they’re pursuing Imax release dates earlier than ever and giving us great visibility several years out,” Gelfond told analysts.
And one key market, China, seems to once again be a critical source of grosses. Imax said it was particularly pleased with the box office earnings from Chinese New Year phenomenon “Ne Zha 2,” which has earned more than $111 million to date in Imax, making it the company’s highest grossing release in China. In certain markets, local language releases out-perform Hollywood blockbusters.
“We are optimistic about the year ahead in China,” Gelfond said. “Underlying demand for moviegoing is there, local film production budgets are growing, and the government is as supportive of the industry as it’s ever been.”
Imax provides its patented technology to theaters around the world, which means new signings mean almost as much to its bottom line as ticket sales. In 2024, Imax installed 146 new systems worldwide. This year, Imax said it expects to have new system installations of 145 to 160.