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. 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.

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.

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, CEO of Imax, said in a statement. “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.”