
Is IMAX’s Future Looking Brighter? Wall Street Thinks So
By Movieguide® Contributor
Wall Street Analysts agree with IMAX’s CEO that the company is well-positioned to move on from the pandemic and dual strikes and storm back with a strong near-term future.
“IMAX has emerged strong following the end of industry strikes and the pandemic, with the second quarter of 2024 marking a turning point characterized by significant growth in system sales and installations,” wrote Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey, per Market Watch. “IMAX raised its full-year 2024 instillation guidance to 130-150 systems, up from 128 in the previous year.”
Despite a down year for the theaters, with the expected to end the year at an $8 billion gross (compared to $9 billion last year), IMAX serves as one of the only bright spots in the industry.
CEO Rich Gelfond has been touting the company’s success, even back at the start of the year, when there was less data to support his positive claims. The first half of the year, however, has proven him right, and the near future appears even brighter.
“The second quarter offered strong evidence that we are at an inflection point in our business; we are on a tear with strong system sales activity,” Gelfond said during a Q2 report. “Our system installations are up significantly, and the slate through 2026 is as strong as we’ve ever seen.”
INSIDE OUT 2 lifted the company to an extremely strong start to the summer, and tentpole movies throughout the rest of the year will fill out its slate. DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE serves as its current blockbuster after it raked to a massive $205 million during its opening weekend. Other movies in the pipeline include ALIEN: ROMULUS, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE and JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX.
IMAX is also benefitting from the ongoing Paris Olympics. During the Games, it is partnering with NBCUniversal to provide live coverage of the Games at 160 locations nationwide.
Movieguide® previously reported:
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.”