Imax is having a second. Greater than 50 years after debuting on the 1970 Osaka world’s honest with the 17-minute experimental movie “Tiger Child,” the format has turn out to be the ascendant king of spectacle. As we speak, Imax counts 1,829 screens in 89 nations — simply 1% of theaters — but makes up an more and more very important a part of the theatrical field workplace, with 50% market share development since 2018 and an estimated $1.2-billion absorb 2025. And the corporate exhibits no indicators of slowing down.
“As long as there are filmmakers who are fans as well as studios who are fans, we’re going to make a difference,” says Chief Govt Richard Gelfond, who acquired the corporate in 1994 with enterprise companion Bradley Wechsler.
Breaking into mainstream Hollywood didn’t come simple. For many years Imax movies have been largely documentaries, typically about area exploration, nature or discoveries, with techniques put in in museums and science facilities. The flash level got here in 2008 with Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which featured 28 minutes filmed with Imax 70mm cameras. Movie buff and business content material creator Lizzy Gonzalez vividly remembers when the Joker (Heath Ledger) unmasks himself through the chaotic financial institution heist. “It was my earliest Imax experience, and my jaw dropped in awe,” she says. Ever since, she’s been hooked, admitting the premium format is “the only legit movie experience that immerses you in the story.”
Administrators are actually leaning in, with the “Filmed for Imax” (FFI) lineup increasing to 14 titles in 2025 — doubling final 12 months’s whole. This system lets filmmakers shoot with Imax cameras or different accredited cameras and supplies further manufacturing assist, resembling an extended window with the tools and extra publicity throughout launch. “In previous years, Imax used to do about 10% of the box office in North America, but [with] FFI movies we’ve averaged about 15%. It means more dollars to whoever makes them and more profit to the studio,” says Gelfond.
Regina Corridor in “One Battle After Another.”
(Warner Bros. Photos)
Not all motion pictures exhibited in Imax codecs are shot below the FFI banner — certainly, from James Cameron’s unique “Avatar” to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” the vast majority of Imax releases are as an alternative enhanced utilizing digital media remastering. However motion pictures that benefit from FFI, together with “Sinners,” “Superman” and “F1,” are seeing box-office advantages and a palpable moviegoing expertise.
“Today’s audiences are searching for an emotional connection; they want to feel something, to step inside the filmmaker’s vision. That’s exactly what we wanted to give them by shooting in 65mm Imax,” says “Sinners” cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who was the primary lady to shoot within the format. “When you sit in a dark theater and take in a full 1.43:1, 15-perf Imax image, it fills your field of view, and you finally understand what cinema can be.”
Claudio Miranda, the cinematographer behind Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” and “F1,” agrees. “For me, Imax is all about immersion. It brings audiences more into the movie than any other format, surrounding them from the north, south, east and west with the film, which is needed for a story of the size and scope of ‘F1.’ Joe and I operate under the shared understanding that audiences react more viscerally to a film that’s been shot authentically, and they can feel it in their bones if it’s not. So we gravitate towards telling immersive, human stories.”
Imax is enhancing technical capabilities too, together with a brand new Imax 70mm movie digicam system nicknamed “The Keighley” in honor of late Chief High quality Officer David Keighley, who oversaw tons of of Imax initiatives. Its most important enchancment is decreased noise. The earlier mannequin was cumbersome, heavy and notoriously loud. Because of the quieter design, Nolan’s “The Odyssey” will turn out to be the primary theatrical film shot fully on Imax movie cameras, one thing he couldn’t obtain on “Oppenheimer” on account of sound points.
“Brad Pitt” in “F1.”
(Warner Bros. Photos)
Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic has already triggered a stir, as most Imax tickets bought out a 12 months earlier than its launch subsequent July. Imax superfan Shane Brief, who noticed “Oppenheimer” 132 occasions and as soon as sat subsequent to Arkapaw throughout a screening of “Sinners,” says it’s factor. “What really pulls me into movies is the emotional aspect when connecting with something. For me, it’s hard to get that in a normal theater. Imax is truly the ultimate immersive experience that draws me in.”
In fact, Imax is just not the one big-screen recreation on the town. There’s AMC Prime, Cinemark XD, Regal RPX, Dolby Cinema, Real3D and 4DX, to call a number of. All share one factor in widespread: an additional premium for a ticket. “The upcharges for a lot of people are worth it,” says Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “When you go into Imax or other premium formats, it’s really about the sound and vision coming together. And for the right movie, the right screen, fans who don’t go to the movies every day are going to splurge.”
How a lot that may price audiences going ahead is left as much as theaters. “By way of our agreement, it’s not our place to get involved,” says Gelfond about pricing. “We believe there could be more elasticity if it’s a big release, but again, it’s up to the exhibitor.” Any indication of a worth squeeze on shoppers will probably floor within the subsequent two years with the forthcoming “Project Hail Mary,” “Supergirl,” “The Batman: Part Two” and “Dune: Part Three,” for which director Denis Villeneuve shot scenes utilizing the brand new Imax 70mm cameras.
Our guess? Begin saving now.
