Imax Swings to Third-Quarter Profit on Higher Revenue and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’

Imax continues to benefit from Hollywood’s ongoing box office recovery as the film technologies company unveiled its third-quarter financial results on Wednesday.

Imax posted revenue of $103.9 million for the latest financial quarter, up 51 percent from a year ago. That beat an analyst forecast of $98.7 million.

Third-quarter profits of $12 million meant a swing from a year-earlier $9 million loss, with adjusted earnings per share reaching 35 cents. The company had Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer generating more than $184 million in Imax global box office across its network, making it a top 5 Imax release of all time.

Other major releases on Imax screens included Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The global box office for Imax titles over the third quarter rose 98 percent to $347 million.

Nolan’s epic tentpole Oppenheimer also centered a mix of Hollywood and local-language blockbusters on Imax screens during the latest quarter, which included China’s Creation of the Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms earning more than $35 million in Imax theaters.

“Imax financial results for the third quarter are spectacular by any measure — versus budget, versus our historical performance and in the context of a highly dynamic business environment for media and entertainment,” said CEO Richard Gelfond. “We are programming by far the strongest and most diverse content portfolio in our history — Hollywood blockbusters, local language films, marquee theatrical releases by streamers, concert films, docs, live events – and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results across our global network.”

Also of note, Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense concert film, which bowed at the Toronto Film Festival, became the highest-grossing Imax Live Event title of all time.