The film is the first to be shot entirely on Imax film, known for its high-quality image that, when displayed on an Imax screen, is designed to immerse audiences in a superior viewing experience. Superfans traveled across continents to see Nolan’s latest work as the director intended: on a 70mm Imax screen, the format’s highest quality medium. According to the company, there are only 25 70mm Imax theaters in the United States and only 41 worldwide. Imax itself owns and operates only one theater, Esquire Imax in Sacramento, California.
The success of “The Odyssey” helped make July the highest-grossing month in the Imax company’s history with $257 million in worldwide box office grosses, according to an Aug. 3 news release. As of August 10, the film became the biggest Imax release of all time, grossing $289 million worldwide after less than a month in theaters, the company said.
“I think we had an Imax awakening last year,” says Imax CEO Richard Gelfond. While 2010’s “Avatar” began a “huge evolution” among moviegoers wanting to experience movies in Imax, releases in recent years like “Dune,” “Oppenheimer” and “Sinners” have taken the format past a “tipping point,” Gelfond says.
“Obviously it’s about the film and the director, but also what’s shown in the Imax theater,” he says.
“Dune: Part Three” is expected to be the next big Imax event when it hits theaters on December 18. Ticketing websites reportedly crashed on August 18 when tickets went on sale, and fans queued at the ticket offices for hours trying to get passes.
Some fans at AMC Lincoln Square in Manhattan, home of the only 70mm Imax screen in the Big Apple, camped outside the theater before box office opening to try to get tickets for “Dune.”
“A friend and I were around here last week when the line went around the block and we were very lucky,” one moviegoer at the theater told CNBC Make It. “Right now, Imax 70mm: when you shoot it that way, it’s worth every second, every sacrifice, every dollar.”
Ticket sales are critical to Imax’s success, but this is how the company makes millions without owning virtually any of the theaters where its films are shown.
Cinema chains ‘want to be in the Imax business’
In the content solutions business, studios pay the company to create and distribute films optimized for Imax. The company receives an average of 12.5% of the film’s Imax box office profits under these deals, according to its SEC filing. The enterprise segment generated about $151 million in revenue in 2025, according to the company’s full-year 2025 earnings report released in February.
The technology products and services division generates more revenue (about $251 million last year) by selling, leasing or leasing Imax technology to theaters.
“Imax operates under a licensing model: movie theater chains around the world or institutions or out-of-home experience companies come to us and say they want to be in the Imax business,” Gelfond says. “So we license our name and our technology to them. And what comes with that is we design the location, we help evaluate it. We help set up the Imax theater. We oversee it.”
Theaters can purchase the Imax system by paying most of the costs to the company up front, or sign a joint revenue sharing agreement, or JRSA. With JRSAs, Imax typically provides the system and assumes most of the equipment and installation costs. In exchange, Imax gets a percentage of the box office through a long-term contract, which typically lasts at least 10 years.
It’s a good deal for Imax because theaters can charge a premium for screenings (a ticket for 70mm Imax costs about $27.77, according to EnTelligence data shared with CNBC versus the national average price of a standard ticket of $16.30, according to CableTV.com) and audiences are usually willing to pay. Demand for those higher-priced tickets makes Imax more valuable to filmmakers and studios, who can produce and market films in that format, giving theaters a lucrative reason to offer screening capacity.
‘The best experience on the planet’
Some competition has emerged in the premium movie viewing space, such as Dolby Cinema and Regal’s RPX. Both tend to offer better viewing experiences with higher quality picture and sound than standard format cinemas. But “consumers are looking for Imax because, frankly, it’s the best experience on the planet,” Gelfond says.
The company has also developed a strong sense of brand loyalty among moviegoers, comparable to that of Nike and Disney, he says.
The 70mm Imax experience is especially coveted given the limited supply of screens and high demand. Gelfond would like to see more theaters capable of projecting the format, but the economics don’t exactly work out, he says. Studios mostly shoulder the cost of $50,000 for each print of the film, and only a limited number of movie theaters would attract enough foot traffic to justify that price. But consider the 70mm Imax experience a luxury.
“In a way, it’s like the Rolls Royce is an amazing car, but it doesn’t compete with a Honda,” he says. “It’s a different audience, a different price point, a different marketing. I think there’s a place for both the Rolls Royce and the Honda. Without a doubt, they’re both doing quite well as businesses.”
In fact, Imax’s box office successes (both in 70mm and regular releases) suggest that moviegoers are willing to pay more for their final product.
“I don’t go to the movies as often anymore, so when I go, I want it to be an experience,” said another moviegoer at AMC Lincoln Square. “As a visual artist, I love [Imax]. “I feel like I can see the whole image and it’s like getting closer to a work of art… There’s no comparison to 70mm Imax.”
