IMAX Corporation, a leading innovator in entertainment technology, has broken its own record for first-quarter box office sales in 2023 with $282.2 million, beating its previous record set in 2016 by over $10 million. The company achieved this milestone through a diverse range of successful releases across the globe, with the first quarter now standing as IMAX’s highest grossing quarter for local language films. James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” was the highest grossing IMAX release of the quarter, generating $255 million in IMAX, and is now IMAX’s highest grossing first-run release of all time.
The company’s CEO, Rich Gelfond, expressed optimism about the rest of the year, stating that the first quarter’s performance “is an excellent indicator of the promise we see in 2023 – a year in which we expect to return to our record-breaking levels of box office from 2019.” IMAX delivered a record-breaking $86.3 million in box office for local language films in the first quarter, representing 31% of the Company’s overall global box office for the period.
A slew of successful releases from key film industries throughout the world contributed to the results. In China, IMAX achieved a new record for local language box office during the peak moviegoing period of Chinese New Year, with $61.3 million in box office sales. China Film Group’s “The Wandering Earth 2” also became IMAX’s highest grossing local language film of all time. In Japan, Toho’s “Suzume” climbed to IMAX’s second highest grossing Japanese local language film of all time, while in India, Yash Raj Films SRK starrer “Pathaan” delivered IMAX’s biggest global opening weekend of all time for an Indian film.
IMAX’s diversifying content portfolio remains a key pillar of the company’s global growth strategy, and it expects to program 30 to 40 local language titles in 2023. The coming weeks will see a number of high-profile releases debut across the IMAX network, including Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, Disney/Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and the highly anticipated French local language film “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan”. IMAX’s impressive first-quarter performance in 2023 suggests that the company is well-positioned to continue its growth and success in the entertainment industry.
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