Imax Tops $600M In Q3 Box Office So Far On ‘The Odyssey’; CEO Shrugs Off Industry M&A – “Our Primary Relationships Are With Filmmakers” — SkimNews
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- Imax has passed $600 million in global box office receipts in Q4 so far, with CEO Rich Gelfond telling the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that the company's previous best quarter was 'in the mid-three hundreds' (Q3 2023).
- The Odyssey is approaching $500 million in Imax-only global box office, which Gelfond said nearly doubles Imax's prior single-film record of $230 million set by Avatar's initial run, achieved on roughly 1% of the world's screens.
- Dune: Part Three pre-sales are tracking as 'one of the most highest pre-sales' in Imax's 60-year history, three months ahead of release.
- Imax plans to lean into merchandising in 2027 after a test of 2,500 branded popcorn buckets sold out within 90 minutes, with Gelfond noting demand stayed unmet even as more units were released.
- Imax is diversifying its programming mix away from superhero films toward sports, music (an Oasis concert) and local-language content, with filmmaker exclusives including Brad Pitt's Netflix Cliff Booth film (November 25) and Michael B. Jordan's Amazon MGM Thomas Crown Affair (March).
- Rich Gelfond said Imax isn't worried about industry M&A because 'our primary relationships are with filmmakers,' and noted positive talks with David Ellison about Paramount ramping up Imax productions if the Warner Bros.-Paramount merger proceeds.
- Imax is shifting from a licensing model toward joint ventures with exhibitors—putting up more capital but taking a larger box-office percentage—with Gelfond saying paybacks have exceeded initial models.
Why it matters: Imax captures roughly 18 cents of every dollar from its exhibitor and studio splits, so the $600M-plus quarter translates to over $100M in direct Imax revenue on just 1% of global screens. The Odyssey nearly doubling Avatar's prior Imax record ($230M) reframes the exhibitor's pitch to studios weighing premium-window theatrical releases.
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