IMAX (IMAX) delivered its best quarter of the pandemic-era with global box office sales coming in at $142 million— up 100% year-over-year, even with streaming giants throwing their weight around as COVID-19 makes the public nervous about being in theaters.
Despite missing slightly on Q3 revenue estimates, the big screen theater chain saw profitability come in ahead of expectations, posting a narrower loss than Wall Street expected.
Although revenue disappointed slightly, IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told Yahoo Finance Live that the chain is " in the middle of the path to profitability. He cited October's impressive rally after the theatrical debuts of both "James Bond" and "Dune."
The company set a new box office record for the month (with one weekend left on the calendar) — crossing $100 million at the global box office, up significantly from its previous record of $84 million set in 2013.
Gelfond predicted that the company will finish the month with $115 million in ticket sales, "maybe a little more," ahead of the premieres of a full slate of fall-winter tentpoles like "Eternals," "Ghostbusters," "Spiderman: No Way Home" and "The Matrix Resurrections."
Even as the Delta variant wreaks havoc on retail and leisure traffic, the executive stressed that "I think we've crossed the point of no return and we're on our way."
An 'Enhanced' experience
On the company earnings call, Gelfond said that IMAX is “in productive conversations with leading global streaming platforms” as the company continues to lean on IMAX Enhanced, a product that gets embedded in televisions to help the image "look much better in the home."
Yet "the idea is not to replace anything in the theater...in no way is it comparable to the IMAX theatrical experience," Gelfond emphasized, saying the goal is for consumers to use this product after already seeing a film in theaters.
"It also saves some money in terms of the optimization in streaming, so there might be several things in there for the streamers and we've been having discussions for a fair amount of time now," he added.
Wedbush analyst Alicia Reese said that IMAX Enhanced "will take some time" to catch on, explaining that it's a "high-priced option" in which the TV has to have the right sound and tech in order for the product to work.
"You're not going to have your Roku players able to play in this at a low-cost price point for entry, [but] over time this is is great for IMAX. It's a high-margin business. It doesn't cost them much, and it gives them a position on both sides of the theatrical fence," she continued.
Overall, the outlook for theaters remains largely positive post-pandemic.
Reese said she expects more consolidations, but also more upgrades (like new IMAX screens and other premium, large format displays) in order to help cinemas distinguish themselves from the at-home experience.
The analyst added that she also anticipates more collaborations and partnerships with streaming giants like Netflix (NFLX) — with at-home viewing boosted by COVID-19 restrictions.
"There's been a lot of progress...Even Netflix was showing some things for an exclusive window for a week or two in theaters during the pandemic [and] I think that they might be interested in doing that post-pandemic," she explained.
IMAX shares are up nearly 11.5% year-to-date.