IMAX has crossed $600 million in global box-office receipts for the third quarter of 2026, with CEO Rich Gelfond pointing to the extraordinary performance of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey as a major force behind the company’s surge. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia media conference, Gelfond said the figure had already passed $600 million while the quarter was still underway, far exceeding IMAX’s previous quarterly best of roughly $300 million-plus, recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
The latest milestone follows an even bigger summer achievement for IMAX. The company reported on September 8 that it generated $728 million worldwide from Memorial Day through Labor Day, making summer 2026 its highest-grossing summer ever. The figure was 73% above the previous summer record set in 2023. During the June-August period, IMAX also captured 5.8% of the global box office despite operating just over 1,800 screens worldwide.
At the centre of that performance is The Odyssey, which has transformed into the biggest IMAX success in the company’s history. Nolan’s mythic action epic has generated $485 million on IMAX screens, making it the highest-grossing IMAX release of all time. IMAX screens now account for approximately 30% of the film’s worldwide box office, an unusually large share for a single exhibition format. The film’s IMAX run has also been extended through September 30 at 39 locations showing the movie in 70mm, following what the company described as unprecedented fan demand.
The scale of The Odyssey‘s contribution becomes clearer when its IMAX run is viewed as a progression rather than a single final number. The film opened with $52 million globally in IMAX, representing 20% of its worldwide opening weekend. That was a record IMAX global debut in comparable markets.
Within less than a month, the film had reached $289 million in IMAX box office, overtaking the previous record holder and becoming the format’s highest-grossing release. At that point, IMAX screens were already generating more than 26% of the film’s overall worldwide box office. The company also recorded four consecutive weekends above $50 million globally during the film’s initial run, something IMAX had never previously achieved.
By August 17, The Odyssey had reached $346.4 million in IMAX, with the format accounting for 26% of its worldwide box office at the time. Its performance in China was particularly striking: the film generated $19.3 million across IMAX previews and its opening weekend there, representing 53% of its Chinese box office from just 1% of the country’s screens.
The film’s relationship with IMAX is also different from that of a conventional blockbuster. The Odyssey is the first full-length theatrical feature shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, with Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema working with IMAX to develop new camera and sound technology for the production. The film used 2.1 million feet of IMAX film during production, making its large-format presentation an integral part of the filmmaking process rather than simply an exhibition option.
That distinction has helped turn The Odyssey into an event for IMAX audiences. The company had already described the film’s success as potentially “transformational” for its business before its theatrical run had fully developed. Screen Daily reported that Gelfond viewed the film as an unusually strong expression of what IMAX can offer filmmakers and audiences.
The IMAX surge is also happening against the backdrop of a broader recovery for theatrical cinema. The U.S. summer box office generated approximately $4.6 billion between May and August, up 26% from the previous year, according to Reuters. The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Toy Story 5 were among the major films helping drive the rebound, while a wider mix of genres and audiences contributed to the stronger season.
For IMAX, however, the company’s current momentum is not being treated as the end of the story. IMAX has projected $1.4 billion in worldwide box office for 2026, with Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three among the major releases still ahead. The company says the film has already generated some of the strongest IMAX advance sales in its history despite being months away from its December release. The upcoming slate also includes Resident Evil, Digger, Street Fighter, Godzilla Minus Zero and David Fincher’s IMAX-exclusive The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.
Gelfond has also indicated that IMAX is looking beyond the superhero-driven model that has dominated premium-format cinema in recent years. The company’s strategy is increasingly focused on films that give audiences a reason to seek out the theatrical experience specifically, whether through filmmaker-driven epics, large-scale action, horror or other productions designed around the capabilities of the format.
That makes the current IMAX run significant beyond the $600 million milestone. The Odyssey has demonstrated the commercial potential of building an entire theatrical event around large-format filmmaking, while the record summer and broader box-office recovery suggest audiences are once again willing to return to cinemas for experiences they cannot easily replicate at home.
With The Odyssey still playing, Dune: Part Three approaching and IMAX projecting a record year, the company is entering the final stretch of 2026 from a position of unprecedented momentum. What began as one of Nolan’s most ambitious experiments with the format has now become a major test of how far premium theatrical cinema can grow when filmmakers and exhibitors give audiences a compelling reason to experience movies on the biggest possible screen.
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