Richard Gelfond, CEO of screen exhibitor IMAX, believes that the Day-and-Date release experiment for big-budget films is now over. Gelfond’s statement comes in context to the profitable and highly recovering business that the company had in the first quarter of 2022. After a downslide during 2021, which saw continuing limitations on theatre screenings and low audience attendance due to shutdowns in some locations, IMAX recorded a steep rise in theater screenings and the consequent box-office collection in this year’s first quarter.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, IMAX has disclosed $173.2 million in box-office collections for the first quarter, which is 57% higher than the figures it recorded in 2021 within the same period. Gelfond cited the return of tentpole releases like Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman as a major reason for the increase in the company’s overall revenue, which also went up 55% from the previous year’s first quarter.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Gelfond said,
Speaking of the studios’ call to release big-budget films on streaming last year, Gelfond said that he considers that experiment over and that movie theaters are back regaining their importance.
I do think as competitive movies come out in the marketplace, you should see the move to premium in general and Imax specifically.
He further added that even for studios, the hybrid model of releasing productions is no longer a primary option and that moving forward in the year, each studio will move to a theater-only model.
They had their chance during an existential threat to the whole business, and it didn’t work. That’s an experiment that’s over.
Our partners at the studios and streamers have told us unequivocally that a theatrical window is pivotal to their strategic plans going forward. And that content that benefits from a theatrical launch performs far better on streaming platforms and drives greater value throughout the chain.
Studios Preferring To Move Back To Theaters
Gelfond said that the studios themselves have realized that the day-and-date release is taking a big chunk out of their profits and that with the theater business up and running again, that realization would affect their decision.
With Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman, theater businesses established concrete proof that the traditional model is far more profitable and viable in the film business. Despite the surge in Omicron cases, No Way Home did massive business in America and throughout the globe, while The Batman, earning $750 million, normalized theater visits for the audience that had grown accustomed to at-home viewing experience during the pandemic.
It’s all theatrical for the studios. I don’t think you will see a hybrid or a streaming model for a blockbuster film for 2022 or probably beyond. The studios realize that’s a model that didn’t really work.
Besides Hollywood blockbusters, IMAX has also released seven local releases in different regions throughout the globe. The current lockdown in China has seemingly affected the anticipated numbers there. On the other hand, India’s RRR from director S.S. Rajamouli has collected more than $150 million at the global box office, becoming the third-highest Indian grosser of all time, hinting at Gelfond’s predictions for the future of the theater business turning right.
Now, in the coming months, IMAX has a highly viable collection of content to release that has high profitability. While, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hit screens on May 6; films like Jurassic World: Dominion, Top Gun: Maverick, and Lightyear will follow in theaters’ attempts to revitalize large-screen film viewing experiences.
