Oppenheimer effect gifts IMAX best July ever: 'No greater experience,' says CEO Richard Gelfond
Gelfond says 'the sun never sets on IMAX,' offering cinematic experiences on a worldwide basis
How the IMAX experience is leveraging the cinema revival
IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond reacts to Oppenheimer's success and the impact blockbusters have on the movie industry on 'Barron's Roundtable.'
IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond celebrated the success of Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller "Oppenheimer" after delivering the company's best July to date.
"Oppenheimer" chronicles the U.S. government's top secret creation of the atomic bomb during World War II. Actor Cillian Murphy plays American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer – known as the "father of the atomic bomb."
"There was no greater experience than Oppenheimer in IMAX. It's kind of like a cult craziness. So there are people who have flown across countries, 6 a.m. shows sold out. I mean, people really know that the way to see Oppenheimer is an IMAX," Gelfond told "Barron's Roundtable" on Friday.
"We had budgeted a certain number for IMAX and will probably do somewhere between around three times what our original budget was. People who want to see Oppenheimer know that it's different in IMAX," he said.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cillian Murphy in a scene from "Oppenheimer." (Universal Pictures via AP) | AP Newsroom
IMAX is a motion picture film format that comprises high-resolution film cameras, formats, projectors and theaters to offer an immersive film experience for moviegoers.
Gelfond shared with "FOX Business" how the IMAX experience is leveraging a cinema revival that Hollywood desperately needs post COVID-19 pandemic and the recent actors and writers strike.
He touted that 2023 has been a "terrific year" for IMAX thanks to the back-to-back to-back blockbusters and its network expansion with 84 new theater signings this year. The CEO disclosed that it was almost double what they had for 2022.
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Gelfond also noted how the IMAX model is much more flexible and not dependent on new releases.
"Last year we released Top Gun [Maverick] and we did about 45 million, and then we had to play other films and we re-released Top Gun, and we did another 65 million," he said.
The IMAX CEO dissected the nuts and bolts of the company's business structure and how they make a profit.
"There are 1,700 IMAX theaters in 90 countries around the world. We license our technology, which includes screen projector, sound system and the whole backend. So we monitor every theater in the world 24 hours a day. The sun never sets on IMAX."
"What happens is the revenue comes from the studio releasing the film, so in the case of Oppenheimer, it's a certain amount from Universal. It comes from the exhibitors who are our license partners around the world. We get a royalty from them," says Gelfond.
"We have a recurring maintenance revenue stream, which is because we maintain the system on a regular basis. A lot of recurring cash flow will get money also from providing the cameras to make movies. We get a fee from doing that. So it's a lot of recurring revenue," he added.
Oppenheimer is the 8th highest grossing IMAX release of all time and boasts a 93% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 91% audience score.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film has raked in over $572 million worldwide as of press time.
