There’s nothing like some superhero flicks and family friendly blockbusters to turn things around at the box office.
Revenues and profits at Imax jumped during the second quarter thanks to the commercial success of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” For the three-month period ending in June, revenue jumped 38% to $98 million, while profits topped out at $8.4 million or 15 cents a share, up from a loss of $2.9 million and 5 cents a share in the prior-year period. Gross margins improved 31% to $57.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA improved 29% to $32.8 million.
“Imax continues to be a winner in a dynamic global marketplace for entertainment, as demonstrated by our strong results in the second quarter,” said Richard L. Gelfond, CEO of Imax in a statement. “We again proved that IMAX can drive results in virtually any business environment thanks to our global scale, asset-lite model, and diversified revenue mix across technology licensing and Hollywood and local language global box office.”
As of June 30, 2023, Imax’s liquidity was $420.0 million, while total debt was $262.4 million. The summer box office has struggled to catch fire and there are signs that the exhibition sector has yet to fully recover from Covid shutdowns. However, Gelfond believes that the experience Imax offers with its larger screens (which carry higher ticket prices) have allowed the company to outperform other theater chains.
Imax has continued to perform well with the release of “Oppenheimer,” which Christopher Nolan shot with the company’s cameras. The historical drama earned $35 million, representing 20% of its total opening weekend receipts, from Imax screens.
“Increasingly, it’s clear the future of the movie business is Imax,” Gelfond said on a call with investors and analysts, adding that the premium screens helped turn “Oppenheimer” into “a cultural event.”
However, the actors and screenwriters strikes that are roiling Hollywood could negatively impact Imax if studios delay the release of major movies. Gelfond said he was confident that most films would keep their release dates because moving them would risk their access to Imax screens.
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