--- title: How IMAX keeps reeling in the big bucks - The Hustle description: The company is so popular, even Tom Cruise can’t get in on the action. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1709714896-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-IMAX_20230629233556.webp --- # How IMAX keeps reeling in the big bucks ![Jacob Cohen](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png?width=48&height=48&name=IMG_5670-1-modified-768x768.png) [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/jacob-cohen) [Jacob Cohen Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/ImJacobCohen) Published: June 30, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 The real “mission impossible” is getting *Mission: Impossible* onto bigger screens. ![IMAX](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1709714896-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-IMAX_20230629233556.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1709714896-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-IMAX_20230629233556.webp) The situation: Tom Cruise’s *Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One* opens July 12. Christopher Nolan’s *Oppenheimer *blasts into theaters July 21. *Oppenheimer* has an agreement to play on every IMAX screen in North America for three weeks upon release — meaning the Cruise camp only has IMAX screens for about a week, which will likely impact the movie’s bottom line. #### **The big picture** In case it wasn’t clear, IMAX screens reel in eye-poppin’ profits. Per [*Variety*](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/oppenheimer-mission-impossible-battle-imax-screens-1235633537/?curator=MediaREDEF#article-comments), Sony’s latest *Spider-Man *film earned an average of $34.2k per IMAX screen throughout its opening weekend, versus $19.7k on standard screens. - Last year, Cruise’s *Top Gun: Maverick* earned $100m+ from IMAX alone. While movie attendance is still down 33% from 2019, *per Variety*, demand for IMAX-style moviegoing is booming. Globally, IMAX [accounted for](https://imaxcorporation.gcs-web.com/static-files/ef0618bb-00df-4a4e-9b81-87b32e53c7f6) ~1% of screens showing *Avatar: The Way of Water*, but generated 11.3%, or $250m, of the film’s box office sales. Though IMAX saw revenues plunge throughout the pandemic, the company *projects* ~$1.1B in global box office sales this year, returning to 2019 levels. **Rewinding the tape: **IMAX has come a long way since 1994, when current CEO Richard Gelfond took over. For an interesting look into how the company swapped business models and cut costs, check out [Gelfond’s take](https://hbr.org/2013/07/the-ceo-of-imax-on-how-it-became-a-hollywood-powerhouse) here. 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