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As IMAX becomes one of the biggest draws for moviegoers, there appears to be a whisper campaign for major theater chains to band together to put more marketing muscle behind their own premium-large format (PLF) offerings.
The Big Picture: IMAX has been on a tear this year, posting a record-best quarter for ticket sales, lifting the box-office grosses and cultural awareness of blockbusters, getting love from Wall Street, and now becoming a legit marketing tool on posters and trailers. Who wouldn’t be jealous of that kind of action?
Behind the Scenes: THR reports that some exhibitors and PLF brands are considering joining forces to market their products as game-changing and successful as IMAX… but others say those talks are overblown, with AMC stating it won’t join a competing coalition.
- Quality comparisons are debatable, but exhibitors do have a valid argument when it comes to ticket sales. While IMAX screenings represented a record 15.6% of Superman’s $125 million domestic box-office debut, other PLF screens represented over 24%.
- And when it came to last month’s Jurassic World Rebirth, PLF screenings represented 30% of the film’s $147.8 million domestic debut, even though the movie didn’t play on IMAX screens at all.
- That shows people also gravitate towards non-IMAX PLF screens, including Dolby Cinemas (which are only at AMC), RPX (only at Regal), ScreenX, and 4DX… which are all growing in popularity and courting more investment.
Final Credits: IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond isn’t sweating the competition, saying that the US theater chains have only expressed ongoing loyalty to IMAX (AMC has the most IMAX screens domestically), and the brand has a strong international footprint (23% of its revenue last year came from China alone).
Also, IMAX has developed strong relationships with marquee filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Greta Gerwig, and Ryan Coogler. Dolby is the only competitor to adopt a similar strategy, working with the team behind Jurassic World Rebirth.
Coming Soon: Considering that many moviegoers are waiting weeks to see hit films in IMAX (especially in the 70mm format), there may be enough demand for another PFL exhibitor to make a sizable dent in market share… if they can publicize it effectively.
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