Imax has been in an enviable position since the great box office reset.
It’s no secret that movie theater attendance has languished in post-pandemic years. But when audiences have opted to go to cinemas, they’ve gravitated toward premium moviegoing options like Imax to distinguish the big screen experience from watching a film at home. To wit: Imax saw record ticket sales of $1.2 billion in 2025 even as the overall box office was down 30% from pre-COVID times. And the technology company is targeting a bigger benchmark of $1.4 billion in 2026 with help from tentpoles like Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three,” which were shot with its proprietary cameras.
Imax’s success in an industry with few success stories hasn’t gone unnoticed. Buyers have circled as the company’s profile has risen in recent years. But Imax was reluctant to engage in talks, believing it was best to operate independently, according to knowledgable sources. However Imax leadership’s attitude has shifted in recent months and the company is in the early stages of exploring a sale, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Imax has yet to publicly comment on its deliberations. But at an investor meeting last December, CEO Richard Gelfond hinted the company might be in play, saying Imax would be an “incredibly valuable player, either as a wholly differentiated publicly traded company or as part of a larger company with the keys to unlock even greater value and are strong business worldwide.” Gelfond recently returned to work after taking a temporary medical leave in March to recover from a serious case of pneumonia. Insiders note a potential sale is unrelated to Gelfond’s health scare.
