Imax saw a 12% drop in revenue from last year’s record-setting success of “Oppenheimer.” But films like “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Alien: Romulus” helped the premium format boost its net income by 16% to $13.9 million in the third quarter, off of $91.5 million in total revenue.
That’s an improvement from the $89 million in revenue and just $3.6 million in net income that Imax reported in Q2 of this year amid strike-induced production delays in Hollywood and the poor performance of May tentpole films like Universal’s “The Fall Guy” and Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”
Here are the key takeaways:
Revenue: $91.45 million, down 12% year over year from $103.90 million
Net Income: $13.90 million, up 16% from $11.99 million.
EPS: Adjusted net earnings per share of 35 cents, which beat consensus estimates from Zacks Investment Research of 22 cents a share.
Box Office Grosses: $239 million in global grosses, a plummet of $107.6 million, or 31%, from the previous-year quarter.
Missing in this year second quarter for Imax was the more than $180 million in grosses it pulled from “Oppenheimer,” IMAX’s fifth highest-grossing title of all time, the company said.
Universal/Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” and Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” were also among the top grossing films for the format in the quarter.
“IMAX continues to set the table for a new, sustained era of growth with a 2025 and 2026 slate that is as promising as we’ve ever seen,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “With an exceptional content pipeline, accelerating system installations, and robust sales activity worldwide, we are very well-positioned to execute and capitalize on the opportunity ahead over the next several years.”
Expecting a record 2025
Q4 2024 may see slightly lower revenue for Imax than expected due to the extremely poor performance of “Joker: Folie a Deux,” which only this past weekend crossed $200 million in global grosses after its predecessor became the first $1 billion R-rated hit in 2019.
But several films are teed up to make up for what “Joker 2” couldn’t earn, most notably Universal’s “Wicked,” which is seeing extremely strong pre-sales and is on its way to a potential $100 million-plus opening weekend. Paramount’s “Gladiator II” and Disney’s “Mufasa” are also among the films on Imax’s end-of-year slate list.
The company expects even bigger things in 2025, projecting it will have its biggest year ever at the box office with $1.2 billion in global grosses. Films like Warner Bros./DC Studios’ “Superman,” Disney/Marvel Studios’ “Fantastic 4: First Steps” and 20th Century’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” are among the titles set to top the charts in the first year since 2019 where the release slate is not expected to be hampered by pandemic or strike delays.
Meanwhile, Imax continues its campaign to expand its global auditorium footprint, installing 49 new systems worldwide this past quarter. In total, 119 new deals have been made by Imax with theater chains worldwide this year, putting it on pace to exceed the full-year total of 129 in 2023 and the high end of the 130-150 deals projected by the company at the start of the year.
