James Cameron’s otherworldly blockbuster “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and Ryan Gosling’s space blockbuster “Project Hail Mary” brought in big business for IMAX. However, these visually striking tent poles weren’t enough to boost the company’s profits and revenue, which both declined in the first quarter of 2026.
IMAX’s financial results for the three months ended March were $81 million, down 6.5% from $86.7 million in the same period last year. The big screen company reported net income of $6.2 million, down 26% from $8.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share rose to 17 cents, up from a loss of 13 cents a year earlier. Those gains were enough to beat Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts on average expected first-quarter sales of $79.9 million and adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share.
Imax’s worldwide sales were $260 million, down 13% year-over-year. Despite the strong results, ticket sales did not compare to the same point in 2025, when China’s Ne Zha 2 set a worldwide box office record of $2.2 billion. Imax donated $164 million of the proceeds. The quarter’s top-earning titles included last December’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Project Hail Mary,” as well as the Chinese comedy “Pegasus 3” and Paramount’s slasher sequel “Scream 7.” Amazon MGM’s “Project Hail Mary,” shot with IMAX cameras, was particularly successful, grossing $92 million worldwide on the company’s premium screens and accounting for 18% of the film’s total box office gross.
“The huge success of Project Hail Mary, a Filmed For Imax release that more than doubled our original box office projections, shows what a well-crafted blockbuster can accomplish when it fully commits to the Imax platform,” said Natasha Fernandez, Imax’s chief financial officer. “This year, we have some tent poles from some of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers that do just that.”
Imax has been key to the box office recovery post-COVID-19. Audiences have been drawn to big, bright screens to differentiate themselves from watching movies at home. Fernandez cited anticipated titles such as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Part III, Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia, all of which leverage the company’s technology. With the help of these films and others, Imax expects a record $1.4 billion in box office revenue in 2026.
Meanwhile, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond shared an update on his health, saying he was transitioning from temporary sick leave and gradually resuming his leadership duties.
“My recovery from pneumonia is progressing well. Now that I have been discharged from the hospital, I will continue to monitor my health over the coming weeks,” Gelfond said in a statement. “As I return from sick leave, I am gradually returning to the business and being involved in all strategic decisions for Imax. The management team is doing a great job and will continue to fulfill my day-to-day responsibilities.”
