In a fascinating interview held by The Ringer, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond talks about one of the most successful years of the company. Gelfond mentions the ‘Oppenheimer effect’, the future of IMAX DNA, and emphasizes that the company is not for sale…at least for now.

New 87 IMAX theaters in 2023

Matthew Belloni from The Ringer has interviewed one of the busiest businessmen in the film industry in 2023 — IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond. Indeed, 2023 is one of the most successful years of the company, boosted by IMAX mega-hits like Top Gun: Maverick, and of course, Oppenheimer, which caused IMAX to break a record (“Our best July ever” as stated by Gelfond), and that’s after he said that Top Gun: Maverick took the company to new heights. Furthermore, Gelfond addressed the requirement of reinventing the 15/70 projection derived from the rising demand, and stated what we reported before, that IMAX is expanding 70mm projectors: “This year, we have new 87 IMAX theaters signing globally compared to 47 signings globally last year. 25-30 are in North America which is way more than recent years” he added.

IMAX is not for sale

One of the most intriguing questions Belloni asked Gelfond, is the option of IMAX being acquired by a tech giant who wants to offer premium content, like Apple or Amazon. The question is valid since Apple, for instance, could use IMAX’s platform to promote its content. This is what Gelfond said: “The company is not for sale, particularly where the stock is right now. But I’ve thought that it would make sense for a technology company when you’re doing up to 30% of the box office if you want to market your content with an IMAX high brand value if they’re interested, and the price is right, they would know how to find us. But there’re no active talks with Apple and Amazon, but I would not comment on it anyway”. Gelfond emphasized that the company is focused on expanding the IMAX DNA to more mediums (streaming, IMAX enhanced, IMAX LIVE, and more. Furthermore, pioneering new methods of utilization of IMAX cameras, expanding possibilities for filmmakers with new IMAX film cameras, and more. Listen to the whole podcast below:

Final thoughts

IMAX is doing great. There’s no doubt about that. Nevertheless, as a personal opinion, we think that IMAX should not reinforce/implement its ‘DNA’ where it will not fit well. We all know the ‘Filmed for IMAX’ program that allows filmmakers to shoot for the huge canvas without IMAX film cameras. However, it seems that IMAX is allowing other low-end cameras to participate in the program without being certified (RED Komodo, and even the Sony FX3). This can lead to unsatisfied IMAX audiences, since the big screen may show difficulties in absorbing the output of these cameras, thus impairing the IMAX brand.