The first time Rich Gelfond visited Sydney, it was in 1996 for the opening of the IMAX cinema in Darling Harbour.

As an executive at IMAX, he had been to a few screen openings by then. “They fit a model. You know, I’ll make a little speech. They’re relatively staid affairs,” he said. “But when I got to the one in the original Darling Harbour, they gave me shots of tequila or vodka.”