It allowed IMAX to work with directors on dozens of ways to enhance a movie and to change the saturation, contrast, brightness and a score of other variables in virtually every frame. It meant the studios could transform their most exciting movies into even more exciting IMAX movies. The first film to employ this technique was Apollo 13, and it met with tremendous acclaim many months after the movie's original release.
The rest, as they say, is history. Today, IMAX has expanded all over the globe. Its new digital projection and sound systems - combined with a growing blockbuster film slate - are fueling the rapid expansion of the IMAX network in established markets like North America, Western Europe and Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Russia. The world's biggest IMAX screen has temporarily come down in preparation for the new screen installation.
In , a U. The company came up with another innovation in , what Mr. Ferguson described as "the ability to up-res 35mm film to Imax quality. The company then set up a deal with the studios to convert their films in return for a percentage of the take from the Imax versions.
In a Harvard Business Review article, Mr. Gelfond described how, in , the company started offering multiplex movie theatres free equipment installation in return for 20 per cent of box-office receipts. Movie-goers would pay a premium, he pointed out, to see a film on an Imax screen, which meant more money for studios, theatres and the company. Schotter, "in particular after , when their balance sheet carried a lot of debt.
And considering how expensive the system was, this was the right move to make. Gelfond called a "financial turning point" for the company.
Imax continues to innovate. Earlier this year, it brought out Imax Private Theatre, offering wealthy viewers the Imax experience in their own homes. It also unveiled its first flagship virtual-reality centre in Los Angeles, featuring VR gaming spaces.
Error message Sorry, there was a problem. Please ensure your details are valid and try again. Steven F. Get involved. Abrams, and James Cameron are huge fans of our technology—they have come to view IMAX as the perfect canvas on which to execute their artistic vision.
When I meet with entrepreneurs who want me to invest in a start-up, the first thing I look for is how attached they are to their business model: Would they consider a plan B or plan C? Iteration is key. During its first 25 years, IMAX installed its system in museums, and most of its films were nature documentaries. By focusing on museums, it could get funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Film Board of Canada to build theaters. In those years IMAX was run almost like a nonprofit.
When we bought the company, we thought we could send a few new people up to the Toronto headquarters and transform the culture into something nimble and entrepreneurial. The bigger problem, however, was the business model. But finding the right way to finance that shift proved really challenging. During the s and into the early s, IMAX was licensing its technology to theaters.
The huge up-front cost was an obstacle, but not the only one. Very few movies were being offered in the IMAX format. It was a classic chicken-and-egg problem. We attacked these problems as best we could. But other disadvantages remained.
To increase the number of IMAX films available, at one point in the s we even tried producing movies ourselves. I specifically recall a movie we made in called T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous. Ultimately, we had to find a way to get both theater owners and moviemakers enthusiastic about the IMAX format.
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