IMAX eyes major Australian expansion, says CEO Rich Gelfond

IMAX plans to capitalise on its growing popularity in Australia by opening up to 40 new screens in locations across the country.

IMAX chief executive Richard Gelfond. IMAX Sydney is the fourth highest-grossing IMAX theatre so far this year, behind London, New York and Seoul. Picture: Getty Images

IMAX plans to capitalise on its growing popularity in Australia by opening up to 40 new screens in locations across the country, with the 3D theatre company’s global boss identifying Australia as one of the strongest movie-going markets in the world.

With only two dedicated IMAX locations in Australia – Sydney, which relaunched in October, and Melbourne – the company’s chief executive officer Rich Gelfond says an expansion strategy is well underway.

“We’ve targeted Australia as one of our key growth markets in the world,” US-based Mr Gelfond told The Australian earlier this month. “It’s a little bit embarrassing for me that our theatres do so well there and yet our penetration is so small.

“There are a number of active discussions going on right now and I would be quite surprised if in a year, there weren’t significantly more IMAX cinemas in Australia.

“We think there should be at least 40.”

There are more than 1700 IMAX screens worldwide, across 80 countries, with the dominant markets being China and the US, but with a growing number of movie directors and film studios using IMAX cameras to shoot, coupled with healthy global box office returns, the demand for more giant 3D screens is growing.

IMAX claimed 21 per cent of the global box office returns for the recent blockbuster Dune 2. Picture: Universal Pictures

Not all screens are in dedicated IMAX theatres, though, with many located in converted cinemas at multiplex theatres. But Mr Gelfond said the company was using the success of the stand-alone IMAX cinemas in Sydney and Melbourne as a guide to the company’s planned expansion in Australia.

IMAX Sydney is the fourth highest-grossing IMAX theatre so far this year, behind London, New York and Seoul.

Sydney’s IMAX theatre is also the fourth biggest in the world, with a 692sq m screen – 40 per cent bigger than the biggest screen at most multiplex theatres.

“When performance is this strong, Australia should have a lot more theatres,” Mr Gelfond said.

The IMAX CEO said consumers’ embrace of the giant 3D screen experience had strengthened post-Covid.

“Part of the driver for that trend is that when people leave the house these days, they want to do something special, something they can’t do at home,” he said.

“The small multiplex theatre experience has lost some of its ‘specialness’, but we’ve found the desire to go IMAX has increased dramatically.

“I think that’s part of a broader trend after the pandemic. When you look at concerts, sports events, and so on, people seem willing to pay more for a special experience. That’s been a global phenomenon and it’s particularly strong in the movie business.”

Asked what makes the IMAX experience so special, Mr Gelfond said: “A regular movie experience feels very ‘third party’, like you’re watching other people interact, but IMAX is much more of a ‘first party’ experience. The screen, the sound … it really makes you feel like you’re in the movie. It allows you to experience a much larger adventure.”

Mr Gelfond said the IMAX price point – tickets are roughly $US5 more expensive than those for a regular session at a multiplex – hasn’t affected sales.

IMAX claimed 21 per cent of the global box office returns for the recent blockbuster Dune 2, despite having less than 1 per cent of movie screens worldwide.

Similarly, Oppenheimer made $US190m at IMAX cinemas last year – although the Oscar-winning film sits in third place in the theatre company’s best performing films. Avatar and Avatar 2 both pulled $US250m worldwide, and a third Avatar film is slated for release at the end of 2025.