Australians, it would seem, still love the big-screen experience.
Last year, IMAX raked in more than $9 million at the box office in Australia, its highest-grossing year in the country since 2015.
That result is largely thanks to the performance of the two flagship IMAX locations, Sydney (ranked No. 4 globally), which benefits from its first full-year of business since reopening after a makeover, and IMAX Melbourne (No. 9).
Australia has been identified as a territory ripe for expansion.
To cater for appetite, new sites opened late December 2024 in Canberra and the Gold Coast, the opening salvo in an ambitious corporate mission to have as many as 40 IMAX screens operating across Australia.
“The success of our Gold Coast and Canberra locations out of the gate — on top of the continued performance of IMAX Sydney and IMAX Melbourne — demonstrates why the country is among our top priorities for expansion”, comments Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX.
“It’s clear the IMAX experience means something to Australians and, given the country’s rich history for cinema, this is a place where we want IMAX to be even more widely accessible and enjoyed”.
Currently, the Canberra location ranks No. 71 and Gold Coast ranks No. 83 among global IMAX theatres, in terms of box office.
Based on the results from their opening periods, and “sustained momentum” in January, reads a statement, they are on track to gross over $1 million for 2025.
Australia was the No. 1 market overall by PSA (per screen average box office) for IMAX, with a PSA of nearly $4.5 million.
IMAX Australia should benefit from a solid release slate of franchise films, including “Captain America: Brave New World”, which came out February 14th, plus “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning”, “F1”, “How to Train Your Dragon” and, at Christmas, “Avatar 3: Fire and Ash”, the third in James Cameron’s “Avatar” saga. The first Avatar film is IMAX’s biggest ever release.
Parent company IMAX Corporation recently reported “solid” financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year of 2024, including a “dramatic” turnaround in China, where in fewer than two months, the Chinese local language box office already exceeded the entirety of 2024.
Full-year revenues came in at $352 million, on adjusted EBITDA of $139 million, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 39% — reaching the top end of its guidance to investors and analysts.
IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles, with additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. At year’s end, there were 1,807 IMAX systems, including 1,735 commercial multiplexes, operating in 90 countries and territories.