On Thursday, IMAX Corporation reported first quarter results, with total revenues of $86.7 million, which was an of 9.5% from last year’s Q1. Operating income came in at $16.7 million, an increase of 38.7% compared to last year’s first quarter.
The Technology Products and Services unit generated $50.59 million in the period, an increase of 17.3%. Within this amount, $12.72 million came from new system sales, which was an impressive increase of 78.7%. The Content Solutions unit grossed $34.25 million, a slight decrease from the $35.19 million earned in last year’s first quarter.
The global box office at IMAX locations during the quarter came in at $298 million, with the Chinese market accounting for $182 million and $164 million of that based on ticket sales for NE ZHA 2. The Chinese animated hit has become the fifth highest-grossing movie ever and is still climbing. One could argue that this single film lifted the fortunes of IMAX theatre locations far beyond that of other major exhibitors, which struggled with an anemic box office in the first three months of the year.
IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond expressed confidence in the company’s prospects, despite threats from the Chinese government to limit the number of Hollywood releases within China. Gelfond theorized that Chinese film authorities were likely to limit “small films,” and that this would not have a “material impact on IMAX,” whose revenues are driven by blockbuster titles.
He also suggested that exhibitors should focus more on “opening [the] content aperture” to include foreign language films and alternative content titles, and less on the push to lengthen the theatrical window. Gelfond noted that “way too much has been made of it,” and that having a wider range of quality and diversified content is much more important.
