Imax Posts Sharply Higher Quarterly Profit Amid Record China Box Office

The box office recovery at Imax continued during the first quarter amid a record-breaking box office performance in China and a strong slate of “Filmed for Imax” titles released into theaters, including Captain America: Brave New World and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners opening strongly last weekend.

Overall revenue at the cinema technologies company came to $86.7 million, up 10 percent from a year-earlier $79.1 million. That beat a Wall Street analyst projection of Imax posting Q1 revenues at $84.23 million.

Imax posted net income at $8.2 million, up 52 percent from a year-earlier $5.4 million. The adjusted net income per share in Q1 came to 13 cents, which fell 13 percent from a per-share loss of 15 cents in the same year-ago period.

Technology Products and Services revenues, or the proceeds from the sale, lease and maintenance of Imax’s theater systems network, rose 17 percent to $51 million. During the latest quarter, Imax installed 21 theater systems, compared to 15 systems in the same period of last year.

Content Solutions revenues — or business from agreements with the major studios and filmmakers — at $34 million, was up 1 percent from a year-earlier $32.1 million, on the strength of strong box office growth worldwide. Other big screen performers for Imax include Mickey and the Interstellar re-release.

The first quarter global box office at $298 million, up 12 percent year-on-year, was lifted by a record-breaking Chinese New Year holiday, which delivered $182 million in box office in China. Here the big performer was Ne Zha 2, which earned over $164 million on Imax screens in China, which marked the company’s highest ever grossing local language animated release in that market.

During an after-market analyst call, Imax CEO Rich Gelfond said China signaling it will reduce the number of Hollywood tentpoles screening in that market to retaliate against U.S. tariffs was not expected to greatly impact his company. “We’re highly confident that the ‘moderate reduction’ in Hollywood imports announced by the China Film Administration will largely target films with limited box office potential in the market and with smaller budgets, not the kind of films that drives Imax’s business,” he argued after talks with the Hollywood studios and exhibition partners in China.

The China Film Administration, the body that handles film releases and quotas in the country, recently said it would “moderately reduce” the number of American films the country imports in response to U.S.President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and will look to increase film imports from other countries.

“So we’re not letting the noise distract us from the opportunity ahead,” Gelfond added, as Imax also looks to screen more local language movie titles in China, Japan and India. In addition, Coogler’s Sinners, shot in Imax’s premium format, bowed in its own and standard theaters last weekend and blew past industry expectations by earnings $45.6 million domestically during the Easter box office race. Other Filmed for Imax releases set for this summer include Thunderbolts, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, How to Train Your Dragon, F1 and The Fantastic Four.

“Imax is off to an excellent start in 2025, the fundamentals of our business have never been stronger, with record global box office and strong system sales and installations growth in the first quarter,” Rich Gelfond said in a statement that accompanied his latest financial results. “With a remarkable global slate scheduled over the next several years and surging demand among exhibitors, we believe we are entering a new era of growth for the company.”