Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, shot entirely on Imax film cameras and seen by cinema-goers on Imax premium large format screens, helps explain the lift the film technologies company received from Hollywood’s premium screen gold rush with its second quarter financial results out on Thursday.
Imax had revenue of $102.8 million in the quarter, up 12 percent from $91.7 million in the year-ago period, while net income rose 30 percent to $15.9 million, compared to a year-earlier $12 million. The adjusted earnings per-share hit 43 cents, up 65 percent against a year-earlier 26 cents.
As Imax navigates a post-pandemic box office rebound for the Hollywood studios, the company’s main movie suppliers, the film technologies company is spearheading a push by major exhibitors into in-demand premium screens and movies shot with proprietary Imax cameras like The Odyssey.
And The Odyssey is proving as transformational for Imax on its giant screens as James Cameron’s Avatar franchise was in earlier business cycles, both in global audience and theatre network sales. That’s feeding through to Imax’s bottom line.
Second quarter content solutions revenues — or business from agreements with the major studios and filmmakers rose 2 percent to $35 million, while the latest quarter’s technology products and services revenues, or the proceeds from the sale, lease and maintenance of Imax’s theater systems network, rose 16 percent to $65 million.
