Can Family-Friendly INSIDE OUT 2 Save This Theater Chain?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Boosted by INSIDE OUT 2’s record-setting numbers, Imax posted better-than-expected Q2 numbers, though they were still down from the same time last year.
The company posted $89 million during the three-month period ending in June, crushing the $79 million prediction it was given by Wall Street. While INSIDE OUT 2 was the cause of these surprise earnings — yet again proving the value of family-friendly content — with little support from other movies, the company was still down $9 million from Q2 2023.
Imax CEO Rich Gelfond, however, painted an optimistic view of the future based on an industrywide recovery from last year’s dual strikes along with high demand across the country for new Imax systems to be installed.
“With the strikes — and the lingering effects of the pandemic — firmly behind us, we are in excellent position to fully realize the benefits of our strong, asset-lite business model,” Gelfond said. “The second quarter offered strong evidence that we are at an inflection point in our business; we are on a tear with system sales activity, our system instillations are up significantly, and the slate through 2026 is as strong as we’ve ever seen.”
Last quarter, the company installed 24 new systems — the same number installed for the entirety of 2023.
Gelfond’s optimism for his company’s future continues the messaging he shared at the start of the year that was contrary to many others in the industry who predicted 2024 would be a poor year for theaters. While this negative prediction has largely played out, the strong slate of family-friendly movies coming in the second half of the year could help salvage 2024.
For Imax specifically, the company is also poised to benefit from the Paris Olympics as it is partnering with NBCUniversal for live coverage of the Games at 160 locations nationwide.
Movieguide® previously reported:
For the first time, Imax has announced that it will show live coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremonies.
The Paris Olympics will air on big screens in 160 different AMC locations throughout the country, NBCUniversal wrote in a press release.
Per Deadline, “The first-ever Summer Olympic opening ceremony not held in a stadium will take place on the Seine river in Paris with a four-mile-long flotilla of nearly 100 boats carrying thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries past spectators seated on the banks. The river parade will follow the course of the Seine past iconic sites from Austerlitz Bridge, the Jardin des Plantes, cross through central Paris and finish in front of the Trocadéro, where the final elements of the show and ceremony will take place.”
NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel said, “We look forward to providing our Opening Ceremony coverage to audiences at IMAX locations across the country, sharing in this historic moment as the world regathers to witness the spectacular beginning of 16 days of athletic greatness against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.”
