IMAX’s record year proves it’s more important to the box office than ever

In a time when nothing seems certain at the box office, one thing can’t be disputed: IMAX is more important than ever. The company, which delivers a premium big-screen experience to moviegoers, has been around for decades but has become an increasingly crucial piece of the puzzle for big films in recent years. To that end, IMAX just had its biggest year ever — and it’s only expected to get bigger in 2026 and beyond.

In a press release, IMAX revealed that it grossed a record $1.28 billion at the global box office in 2025. Of that, $449 million came from domestic ticket sales, up 14% from the previous record set in 2023. For context, the domestic box office failed to cross the $9 billion mark in 2025totaling $8.87 billion. This means that IMAX accounted for 5% of overall ticket sales, although it only represents 1% of the total number of screens worldwide. Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX, said this in a statement:

“2025 was truly a transformational year for IMAX in which we improved our performance across our entire business, capturing a greater share of the total box office with a greater variety of releases across a growing global footprint. We see no signs of slowing down given a very promising upcoming schedule and the consistency of our market share gains, as filmmakers, studios and audiences around the world continue to turn to the IMAX experience.

IMAX’s success was a bright spot in an otherwise difficult year. The summer 2025 box office did not meet expectationssuperhero movies continued to show signs of wear and tear as The Marvel Cinematic Universe has fallen further from graceand theaters endured multiple dry spells while waiting for much-needed peaks, which became increasingly rare.

The best IMAX films in 2025 were the huge Chinese animation hit “Ne Zha 2”, worth $2 billion ($166.7 million), “Avatar: Fire and Ash” ($112 million), “F1” ($97.6 million), “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” ($95.9 million) and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” ($75.8 million). In the case of “F1”, this represents almost 16% of its total box office, which is extremely significant. Likewise, “The Final Reckoning” made almost 13% of its money from IMAX screens.

IMAX now estimates 2026 revenues will reach $1.4 billion, driven by titles like “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia,” “Dune: Part Three” and “Michael,” among others.

Ultimately, almost all of the biggest films of 2025 benefited greatly from IMAX, with the exception of “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which had to forgo an IMAX release for scheduling reasons. The company has around 1,800 screens worldwide, and these screens are highly sought after, with studios reserving their spots well in advance. Universal even started sell tickets to IMAX screenings of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” for a full year in advance.

These figures demonstrate that audiences are willing to pay more for a premium experience when choosing to go to the cinema. Part of the problem is that IMAX is a scarce resource. However, this opened the door to premium format competitors such as Dolby Cinema are getting involved. Overall, premium format screens are quickly becoming the key to the future of the cinema experience, with IMAX clearly leading the way in this area. Audiences search these screens to find the right movie, whether it’s an animated feature or a big-budget blockbuster from a beloved director. For this reason, IMAX has carved out its place in the rapidly evolving future of the film industry.