IMAX Hits Record $1.28 Billion Sales as 30 70mm Projectors Drive Scarcity Premium
Updated
Updated · martincid.com · Aug 26
IMAX Hits Record $1.28 Billion Sales as 30 70mm Projectors Drive Scarcity Premium
1 articles · Updated · martincid.com · Aug 26
Summary
IMAX generated a record $1.28 billion in worldwide ticket sales in 2025, outperforming a broader theatrical market that largely flatlined.
Around 30 IMAX 70mm projectors worldwide underpin that strength, turning limited capacity, custom booths and slow print production into a pricing and demand advantage.
That scarcity lets IMAX capture roughly 15% to 25% of a tentpole’s opening-weekend gross, especially when filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and James Cameron build releases around the format.
Nolan’s "The Odyssey," which opened on July 17, 2026, showed the model’s pull: 70mm runs sold out, ticketing sites strained under presales and engagements were extended into September.
Rivals including Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD and Disney’s Infinity Vision can challenge IMAX’s digital tier, but not the celluloid supply chain and branded 70mm experience that form its moat.