Earnings

IMAX Posts Record Third-Quarter Profit and Box Office

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 3 min read

Revenue reached $174.6 million, up 64% from a year earlier, as global box office hit a record $712 million and net income reached $117.1 million.

IMAX Corporation (IMAX) reported the best quarterly financial results in company history for the three months ended September 30, 2026, as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey lifted global box office to a record $712 million and the entertainment-technology company’s revenue growth accelerated from the prior quarter.

Revenue was $174.6 million, up 64% year-over-year, after a 12% year-over-year increase in the second quarter. Gross margin was $126.3 million, or 72.3%, up 88% year-over-year and 920 basis points from 63.1% a year earlier.

Net income was $117.1 million, or a 67.1% margin, up 418% year-over-year. The result included a $36.7 million, or $0.63 a share, release of a valuation allowance on certain Canadian federal and provincial deferred tax assets that the company said are expected to be utilized in future years. Adjusted EBITDA was $120.9 million at a 69.3% margin, up 133% year-over-year. Diluted net income per share was $1.96, up 430% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share were $2.21, up 370% year-over-year. The company said both quarterly per-share figures eclipsed any full-year result in IMAX history.

Content Solutions, which includes digital remastering and distribution of films to the IMAX network, was the larger of the two reportable segments in the quarter. Segment revenue more than doubled to $94.0 million, up 110% year-over-year, with gross margin of $71.7 million at a record 76%. The company said the global platform delivered a record 76% gross margin reflecting incrementality as the platform scales and box office increases.

Global box office of $712 million was IMAX’s highest quarterly total in its history and increased 94% year-over-year. The company said it delivered 6.7% of the industry’s third-quarter global box office on less than 1% of worldwide screens. Top titles included The Odyssey, which contributed $538 million in the quarter and more than $550 million worldwide as the highest-grossing IMAX release of all time, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day at $58 million.

Technology Products and Services revenue rose 28% year-over-year to $77.3 million, with gross margin of $53.4 million at 69%. The company said rental revenue growth tied to higher box office and amendments and renewals of existing agreements more than offset lower systems under sales arrangements. It installed 32 systems in the quarter, compared with 38 a year earlier, including 15 under sales arrangements versus 17.

Commercial multiplex systems reached 1,820 as of September 30, 2026, versus 1,759 a year earlier. The total system network was 1,887. Backlog was 409 systems, down from 478, after cancellation of 17 Greater China locations deemed mutually no longer beneficial. Quarter system signings were 20, versus 19 a year earlier. Year-to-date signings were 79, versus 142, including 70 AMC traditional JRSA systems in 2025. The company said signings for IMAX systems reached over 100 year-to-date, 65% new locations, as sales activity accelerated following The Odyssey and strong pre-sales for December’s Dune: Part Three.

Income from operations was $74.9 million. The company recorded $6.8 million of goodwill impairment in the quarter. Cash from operating activities was $86 million in the quarter, up 28% year-over-year. Available liquidity was $641 million, including $208 million of cash and cash equivalents. Total debt, excluding deferred financing costs, was $251 million. The board extended the share-repurchase program through June 30, 2027; remaining authority was about $237 million of $500 million. No common-share repurchases occurred in the third quarter of 2026 or 2025.

Chief Executive Rich Gelfond said the company is looking ahead to a slate that includes Dune: Part Three, the Chinese release of Avengers: Doomsday, and a Chinese New Year offering led by Wandering Earth 3.

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