Rich Gelfond Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Imax saw sales dip in the fourth quarter to $86 million from $98 million, in line with Wall Street forecasts, as the company focused on the full year and its accelerated global expansion. The stock in up in after-market trading.

THE TRIP TO Baden-Baden didn’t go as planned. Last summer, Imax CEO Rich Gelfond touched down in the German city for a conference of theater owners, looking to hype the blockbusters that were about to unspool on the company’s football-field-sized screens. But instead of excitement, Gelfond was greeted with outrage.

Oppenheimer producer Emma Thomas hit a few expected notes in her Best Picture acceptance speech Sunday night, thanking director Christopher Nolan and Universal Pictures.

Anne Globe is Imax‘s new Chief Marketing Officer.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Imax has appointed Anne Globe as chief marketing officer. Globe, who previously served as CMO of Skydance Media and DreamWorks Animation, will be responsible for overseeing all brand, film marketing, creative and social media for the global entertainment technology platform.

As it continues its rapid global growth, IMAX has set a significant expansion of its partnership with Pathé Cinemas in Europe, pacting for five new IMAX with Laser systems locations, four of which will be in France. The agreement also spans distribution, with IMAX and Pathé Live set to release three upcoming Pathé Live films across the IMAX network.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Multi-territory European cinema operator, Pathe Cinemas has expanded its existing deal with premium large format technology company Imax. The new agreement sees the addition of five new Imax With Laser systems in Europe, including four in France.

IMAX is continuing its expansion drive, this time in Australia and Germany via an agreement with Oz-based exhibitor EVT for five new state-of-the-art IMAX with Laser systems in the two markets. Under the deal, EVT will integrate a new IMAX screen in an Event Cinemas location in Sydney, as well as at four CineStar locations in Germany.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond predicts the long SAG-AFTRA strike will settle relatively soon. If, instead, it drags on, theater chains will face a rocky second half of 2024 but he sees the large-format exhibitor standing apart.

IMAX is continuing its expansion in Malaysia and its partnership with Golden Screen Cinemas, pacting for six state-of-the-art IMAX with Laser systems. The agreement will cover five new locations including the Aurum TRX in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, and one upgrade to the Southkey Megamall location in IOI City Mall. With the new deal, IMAX has now completed 13 signings for its systems this year in Malaysia, making it the top international growth market for IMAX in 2023 to date.

Monday night’s special 40th anniversary screening of Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense at the Toronto Film Festival is now Imax’ highest-grossing live event, the company said. The groundbreaking Talking Heads concert film, from A24, earned $640,839 and sold out 25 screens across 165 Imax locations in North America and the BFI Imax in London.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond turned a media conference Q&A back on the host today, grilling a Goldman Sachs analyst about the firm’s two-year ‘sell’ rating on the stock when, he said, much of the Street has a ‘buy’.  

Imax Corp. is planning to acquire full control of its China subsidiary, the company announced Wednesday.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Imax announced Wednesday that it plans to spend $124 million to get full ownership of Imax China. The subsidiary was listed on the Hong Kong exchange and was established in 2011 by Imax to oversee its business in Greater China, which has become a key market for the exhibition company. Imax creates wide-screen technology that enables theater owners to charge premium prices — it is also a favorite with big-budget filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Michael Bay, who use the company’s proprietary cameras to produce their movies. Since COVID, Hollywood films have struggled to attract the same level of business as they did pre-pandemic, but local-language titles such as “The Wandering Earth 2” and “Lost in the Stars” have been huge hits when they have screened in Imax.

Imax chief executive Rich Gelfond said he’s never seen China let as many U.S. titles into country as early as they have this year. After a slowdown in the pace that caused some angst in Hollywood, there’s been a steady stream of releases — although not necessarily a surge in ticket sales — with The Flash, The Little Mermaid and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny all cleared and upcoming and Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning likely to be, he told the J.P. Morgan media conference today.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ignited to $282 million globally, including a better-than-expected $168 million at the international box office. Heading into the weekend, Disney’s superhero tentpole was projected to collect $130 million to $140 million overseas. Thanks to positive word-of-mouth, estimates were revised up by Sunday. That’s good news because summer movie season is only going to get more competitive as “Fast X” and “The Little Mermaid” open later this month. In North America, the conclusion to Marvel’s trilogy about a band of intergalactic misfits opened to $114 million, ranking as the second-biggest domestic opening weekend of the year, behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($146 million).

Imax and Evo Entertainment announced today during their presentation at CinemaCon that they have entered into a partnership to open eight new Imax locations throughout Florida and Texas, including ones in Houston and Austin, marking the largest agreement for new Imax locations in a decade.“As we continue to expand, we remain committed to being at the forefront of cutting-edge spaces,” said Mitch Roberts, CEO of Evo Entertainment Group in a statement. “This partnership with Imax allows us to further enhance our state-of-the-art facilities and provide our guests with the ultimate movie-going experience.

EXCLUSIVE: Jumping on growth opportunities in Southeast Asia, Imax has entered into new agreements with Galaxy Cinema in Vietnam as well as Major Cineplex in Thailand and Cambodia.

joined Imax Entertainment in 2019 from Paramount, where she was the head of global marketing and distribution. A graduate of Harvard, Colligan’s past work also includes a start at Miramax and a vice president position at Searchlight Pictures.At Imax, Colligan oversaw the launch of the company’s “Filmed for Imax” program to bring in new filmmakers to shoot on cameras designed for the premium format.

IMAX Entertainment President, Megan Colligan is stepping down per a note just dropped to staff from Imax CEO Rich Gelfond.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Veteran Hollywood executive Megan Colligan is resigning her post as president of Imax Entertainment. The announcement was made Thursday in an internal memo circulated by Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. Gelfond said Colligan “decided to move on from IMAX. Megan will stay with the company through the end of April — helping see us through a busy period that includes our annual CEO Forum, CinemaCon, and our first quarter earnings report — while we complete a search for her replacement,” per the memo obtained by Variety. Colligan joined Imax in 2019. She previously served as global head of marketing and distribution at Paramount Pictures.

Cinemark Theatres, announced in January. An Imax representative could not be immediately reached for more details.Imax reported last month that it was once again profitable during the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to mega-hits “Avatar: the Way of Water” and Disney’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Its success drawing key audiences had helped cement its role in the success of blockbusters.

Imax is adding two heavy hitters to its board, naming longtime entertainment executive Gail Berman and Reddit chief operating officer Jen Wong as directors.

Imax announced Monday that it is naming Gail Berman and Jen Wong to its board of directors. Wong is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Reddit, having led digital sales and strategy across firms like PopSugar, AOL and Time Inc., where she served as the COO and President of Digital.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Longtime entertainment and media executives Gail Berman and Jen Wong have joined Imax’s board of directors. “As we continue to diversify and grow the Imax business across platforms and around the world, we continue to bring new expertise onto our board and both Gail and Jen have deep, proven experience across the media and entertainment landscape,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax.  Berman currently serves as chair and chief executive officer of production company the Jackal Group. Wong is Reddit’s chief operating officer and has previously led digital sales and strategy at PopSugar, AOL and Time Inc.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Creed III” emerged victorious at the box office with its impressive $58.7 million debut, setting a franchise record while dethroning two-time champ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It’s also a big win for theater owners, who are banking on the good fortunes to continue in March with upcoming releases “Scream VI,” “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and “John Wick: Chapter 4.” Heading into the weekend, “Creed III” was projected to earn $36 million to $40 million, which already would have been enough to establish a new high-water mark. The first “Creed,” which re-launched the decades-old “Rocky” films in 2015, powered to $29.6 million, while its 2018 sequel “Creed II” opened to $35.5 million.

Imax chief executive Rich Gelfond said blockbuster titles will probably be back on Imax screens later this year, as per Top Gun: Maverick last year and, more recently, Titanic’s 25th anniversary re-release.

Imax said today it expects return to pre-pandemic gross box office level of $1.1 billion in 2023.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” buzzed to $110 million at the domestic box office, beating expectations and scoring by far the biggest opening weekend in the pint-sized Marvel trilogy. The superhero adventure, starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as the titular Ant-Man and the Wasp, is expected to bring in $118 million or $120 million from 4,345 North American theaters by President’s Day on Monday. It’s the first $100 million domestic debut of 2023. The film added $121 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $225 million. “’Ant-Man’ is the first new Hollywood blockbuster out of the gate in 2023,” says Imax’s CEO Rich Gelfond, noting that $24 million came from the company’s premium-format screens.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Giant screen systems company Imax has struck an expanded deal with Indonesia’s leading cinema operator to instal an additional ten Imax Laser-equipped theaters. When fulfilled, the agreement will mean the doubling of the Imax and Cinema XXI footprint in the populous southeast Asian country. The first four of the new systems will be located at the Summarecon Mall in Bandung, the Icon Bali in Denpasar, the Aeon Mall in Deltamas and the Thamrin Nine complex in Jakarta. The rollout of the additional six theatres will continue into 2027.

IMAX China Holding, Inc and IMAX Corporation have named CAA China veteran Daniel Manwaring as Chief Executive Officer of IMAX China. He succeeds interim CEO Jiande Chen, who will return to his full-time role as Vice Chairman of IMAX China. Manwaring takes over the post from January 9, 2023.

iHeartRadio’s Z100 Jingle Ball Presented by Capital One 2022 will see its Dec. 9 Madison Square Garden show streamed live to 75 IMAX Live theaters.

Imax missed Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings projections due to what it called “a temporary slowdown in the Hollywood pipeline,” but edged revenue estimates thanks to a string of local-language blockbusters.

EXCLUSIVE: Imax has inked a deal with Wanda Films, China’s largest exhibitor, to install six Imax systems in new multiplexes across top Chinese markets including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Wanda will also relocate and upgrade three of its existing Imax systems to forthcoming locations.

SSIMWAVE Inc., a video company that uses AI tech to enhance video images in real time and deliver the highest quality video images on any device for both on-demand and live video streams.Imax acquired SSIMWAVE as part of its mission to produce the best quality video images on any screen and to further its ambitions with live video. The deal was for $18.5 million in cash and $2.5 million in stock with additional earn-out consideration of $4 million, subject to achieving certain operating performance and financial objectives.SSIMWAVE’s tech has won two Emmys and has a 30-person engineering team that has mapped the human visual system to produce one of the most accurate measures of perceptual quality, which its AI-driven software applies to enhance video streams and files in real time.

Imax Corp. has acquired Ssimwave, an Ontario-based AI-driven tech firm whose clients include media giants from Disney and Paramount Global to Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCU parent Comcast. It’s a cash and stock deal worth $21 million.