Imax delivered $1.06 billion in global box office in 2023, near its highest ever year, with $1.1 billion in pre-pandemic movie ticket sales worldwide in 2019. Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer and Taylor Swift’s concert film helped boost ticket sales following the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the entertainment technology company said its second highest grossing year for ticket receipts came on giant screen play for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer – which was shot with Imax cameras and grossed $183.2 million in global box office last year – as well as Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and a host of Hollywood and local language titles, concert films and live events.
A China booking fee would have brought Imax’s global box office last year to $1.09 billion if China booking fees were included.
With $393.2 million in ticket sales, Imax recorded its highest domestic box office year ever, while generating $227.1 million in local language box office, including films from China, India, and Japan, as well as new studio partners in Indonesia and Thailand, for its best-ever year.
Including China market booking fees, the 2023 performance was 24.4 percent better than the $851 million in global box office for 2022, when Imax had Avatar: The Way of Water in its worldwide theaters.
“From Oppenheimer to Taylor Swift to releases from across China, India, and Japan, Imax delivered more awe-inspiring experiences from more creative partners in 2023, resulting in one of our best years ever,” Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax, said in a statement. – THR
