Advanced Television

IMAX, Disney extend distribution deal

February 27, 2017

By Chris Forrester

Giant screen operators IMAX revealed that it had struck an agreement with Disney to extend their distribution ties through 2019. It means the successor movies to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange and The Jungle Book, which were among the top 10 grossing films for IMAX last year, will continue to be shown on IMAX screens.

Many of the movies utilised IMAX cameras, including the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

IMAX released their results and CEO Rich Gelfond told analysts that it had signed agreements for a record 319 new theatres across 28 countries, and added 166 new theatres to the network and bringing its global network to more than 1,200 installed screens with an additional 498 in backlog. Gelfond said that the rate of installation was also well up, with the 166 installs last year well above the normal annual rate of nearer 115-120 screens. This year will see 150-155 new screens installed.

“In 2016, we delivered global box-office of $966 million, which resulted in a global per-screen average of roughly $1 million. Domestically, we delivered a per-screen average of $935,000 and internationally ex-China delivered a PSA of over $1 million. We saw a significant PSA growth in some select international markets, namely Japan and India, which happen to be two countries with strong growth potential,” said Gelfond.

IMAX finished 2016 with cash in the bank to the tune of $205 million.

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