By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
IMAX reported a record $298 million global box office in the first quarter. That number will likely get even higher as additional films filmed for IMAX will hit theaters this summer, including the Fantastic Four, How to Train Your Dragon, Mission Impossible, and F1. Joining me now to discuss the state of the business and how consumer demand is holding up, we’ve got Richard Gelfond, IMAX CEO. I’m also joined by Yahoo Finance senior reporter, Alexandra Canal. I mean, Richard, my gosh, we’re at like Mission Impossible, like 17 at this juncture, but they still continue to do well, they’re filmed in IMAX, and it seems like that’s the way that consumers who are still going into the movie theaters, despite whatever economic pressures there are, want to consume some of these big hit films.
01:34 Richard Gelfond
Well, um, going to the movies is still a relatively inexpensive form of enjoyment. Like, if you compare it to concerts and sporting events, all which prices have gone much higher. And, um, the pandemic, I think people just got tired of sitting on their couches and watching their television and watching their favorite streaming. So I think the trends have really been in IMAX’s favor, meaning people want blockbuster movies, they want out-of-home experiences, and they want something special. And, you know, I know when I go to a regular movie, that’s not that different than my TV set. It’s like, yeah, but if you go to an IMAX film and you go to a theater, the sound, the crowd, you know, the seating, it’s just a much more exciting thing. And nothing fits that better, obviously, than Tom Cruise and Mission Impossible.
02:58 Alexandra Canal
Yeah, Rich, and I was at the early screening yesterday, I took my friend with me, and we were talking about how we literally felt like we were flying or in the water with Tom Cruise during some of those scenes. And it got me thinking about the overall IMAX experience. And obviously, like you were just laying out, those big-budget action-packed movies, they do well. But we also saw big outperformance from other films like Sinner, for example, which, relative basis, a much smaller film. So what does that tell us about the types of movies that people are craving right now? And is it harder or easier to predict some of these blockbusters?
03:57 Richard Gelfond
Um, well, I think you, in terms of the blockbusters, I think it’s pretty easy to predict a range. You know, obviously the question is how far in that range. So, uh, the Mission Impossibles have done between 600 million and 800 million, pretty much all of them. And this is the final one, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the range and where you’re going to get in there. But I think Sinner, I’m so glad you raised that, um, was a great example of something that really wasn’t expected to do as well as it did. And Ryan Coogler is an auteur filmmaker, uh, the movie was, um, you know, shot so beautifully. It was such a good story. But I also think the IMAX film of it all had something to do with it. So, IMAX film kind of has a cult following. And the last, the last IMAX movie, filmed with our cameras, was Oppenheimer. And the next one is Odyssey, which is Nolan’s next film, which is coming out, um, next July. So this is the only chance to see it and, I, we did 20% of the global box office on less than 1% of the screens. And today’s actually the last day, maybe tomorrow, that it’s playing, and I happen to be at Lincoln Square this morning, and it was two shows are sold out today, a month into the run. So I think the IMAX of it all and the IMAX film of it all, and matching that with such an accomplished filmmaker as Ryan, creates its own buzz in a way. It didn’t have its own IP, but IMAX becomes the IP around it.
06:28 Speaker A
What does that tell you about the need for more originals like Sinner to really reinvigorate so much of the fanfare around new titles for the box office?
06:48 Richard Gelfond
Well, I don’t think you could overgeneralize, Brad. I think you need both things. I mean, when you look at, you know, the box office, uh, like Minecraft that had some of its own IP and, you know, you talked a little bit about the slate that’s coming up this year, obviously things like Jurassic World and How to Train Your Dragon have their own name and IP going for them. But I think you need both. I don’t think people, you know, you joked at the beginning that this was Mission 17. You know, I don’t think, it’s been coming out since I was in, like, when you see it, it’s fresh and it’s new, and Tom still looks pretty good. He’s doing more stunts. But I think it’s a combination of that, and I think, you know, the world and the media gets a little caught up when a blockbuster doesn’t work. Oh, it’s all original content. And then when original content, um, doesn’t work, oh, it’s too high a gamble. You need IP. But I think it’s that right mixture, and I think IMAX really facilitates that, because partly when the IMAX brand is involved, they know we’re like sort of a curator of global content. So when they see the IMAX name, they know we’re just not going to do any movie. It’s going to have to be something really visually stunning and special.
08:13 Speaker A
Feels like it.
08:17 Speaker A
Elementary school.
08:22 Richard Gelfond
No, when you see it,
08:36 Speaker A
Yeah.
08:37 Richard Gelfond
Still doing more stunts.
09:35 Speaker A
Right.
10:34 Alexandra Canal
And Rich, IMAX in particular is a very global company, and I’m curious to get your opinion on this, given how steeped you are in this industry, but we heard President Donald Trump float this possible 100% tariff on foreign-made movies. We then had that counter-proposal from Governor Newsom. What do you make of the idea of tariffs on movies, and really beyond that, do you think more incentives need to be placed here in the US to bring filmmaking, maybe, uh, to home back home?
11:13 Richard Gelfond
Yeah, Allie, I, you know, I wasn’t worried when I heard, you know, the president say that. It’s not very realistic because it’s really like a tariff on IP, and tariffs go on goods. So, are you going to put tariffs on software, which is made overseas, and what does made really mean? Anyway, people work from their homes, they work all over the world. So I don’t really think that was a proposal that people took very seriously, and I don’t think it’s going to happen. On the other hand, I do think we need more incentives at home. As you know, a lot of films are made in London now. They’re made in Australia, Canada, Vancouver and Toronto are big places films are made, and they have great incentives to bring the talent there. So I think California is on the right track, and I think once the president clarified it a little bit, I think that’s the direction he’s going to go.
12:33 Speaker A
Rich, great to see you here in studio. We actually are running against the end of the hour here. We got to have you back in studio soon.
12:44 Richard Gelfond
Okay, great to see both of you. Thanks.
12:47 Alexandra Canal
Thank you.