IMAX CEO on The Odyssey's Box Office Success, Why There Are Only 41 IMAX 70mm Screens Worldwide, and Disney's Infinity Vision
Rich Gelfond talks about The Odyssey earning over 20% of its opening weekend from IMAX screens, the economics of IMAX 70mm projection, and why Disney created Infinity Vision after losing Avengers: Doomsday to Dune 3.
The Odyssey made $264.1 million globally during its opening weekend, and IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond just revealed that over 20% of that total came from IMAX screens. That's $51.8 million from premium format showings, with IMAX 70mm projection alone generating $6.3 million from just 41 screens worldwide.
Those numbers translate to an average of $153,000 per IMAX 70mm screen for the weekend. The BFI in London is sold out through week six, and when they put week seven and eight tickets on sale, those shows sold out too. That's two months of sold out screenings for a single theater.
Christopher Nolan pushed IMAX to build a quieter version of its camera so he could shoot the entire movie in the format, making The Odyssey the first film ever shot completely on IMAX cameras. Presales of IMAX 70mm showings sold out within an hour almost a year before the movie opened, earning $1.5 million before a single frame was shown publicly.
Why There Are Only 41 IMAX 70mm Theaters in the World
IMAX 70mm projection has become a hot ticket for Christopher Nolan movies, but there are only 41 theaters worldwide that can show it. Gelfond says there's definite interest in upping that number, but the economics don't work beyond a certain point.
The IMAX film projectors are expensive to maintain and require a specific aspect ratio that costs a lot of money to build into theater spaces. They're like Rolls Royce cars, according to Gelfond. Top of the line, vintage, built to last for a very long time, and designed for a specific cinephile audience willing to travel great distances or pay premium prices.
The maintenance costs are high, and while Gelfond says he wishes IMAX could do more locations, the format doesn't work economically at hundreds of theaters. He's willing to bet that IMAX screens will still be showing The Odyssey by the end of September.
Nolan's Collaboration with IMAX and What Other Filmmakers Are Asking For
When Nolan called Gelfond about building a quieter camera to shoot an entire movie, it didn't shock the IMAX CEO. Nolan has been pushing the format for years, from shooting portions of his Batman trilogy for bigger screens to winning an Oscar for Oppenheimer.
Gelfond describes their relationship as a team that's learned to anticipate what the other one wants. When Nolan told him he was running the camera backward for some scenes in Tenet or dropping one out of a helicopter or floating them in water, none of it was surprising. Nolan is always trying new things.
Other filmmakers have approached IMAX about the camera Nolan used since he started filming a year ago. Denis Villeneuve used the camera for a few sequences in Dune 3. Gelfond thinks Nolan is a unicorn, but believes there will be other relationships that can be equally successful, pointing to collaborations with Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan on Sinners, Creed III, and the upcoming The Thomas Crown Affair.
What Disney's Infinity Vision Actually Is
Disney dropped the Avengers: Doomsday trailer recently and announced Infinity Vision as the format for the film. Gelfond says it's not a new technological advance in any way. It's a marketing initiative.
Disney could not play Avengers in IMAX because IMAX had committed to Dune 3. Disney wanted to figure out a way to market to audiences, so they created Infinity Vision. It's not going to open an additional projection system, and it's not going to add any special look or feel to the film.
Gelfond says Disney gave him a heads up before going public with the announcement and were respectful about it. Whether the marketing initiative works remains to be seen.
The Odyssey's Impact Beyond Box Office Numbers
Gelfond thinks Wall Street sometimes evaluates IMAX on a week to week or movie to movie basis, but The Odyssey isn't just a movie. It's one of one, and the numbers will be among the best in IMAX history.
Those numbers won't only affect the box office. They'll affect IMAX's signings, installations, and audience awareness. Regal's LA Live opened as an IMAX theater about six months ago and did around $800,000 in its first six months. This weekend, it played The Odyssey and did $275,000.
That kind of awareness leads to repeat business and creates intangible benefits that go beyond a single opening weekend. Movies that stand out like The Odyssey change how audiences think about the format and where they choose to see films.
When asked about reports that IMAX is up for sale, Gelfond said he can't address it. As a public company, when there's a signed deal to announce, they'll talk about it. The company has been approached numerous times over the years.
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