Imax sees light in Dark Knight
The blockbuster movie The Dark Knight brightened the financial picture at Imax Corp. in the third quarter, but not enough for the company to break into black.
Imax, which makes ultra-sophisticated movie projection equipment, lost $12.2 million US, or 29 cents a share, in the third quarter of 2008. The net loss figure for the company was almost three times the $4.5 million, or 11 cents a share, Imax lost in the same three months of last year.
Revenue fell by $6 million to $21.2 million in the April to June period.
The company said it installed two fewer Imax movie systems in the second quarter of this year versus last year. As well, in 2007, Imax benefited from the release of Spiderman 3, which proved popular with viewers who wanted to see the film on large screens.
Those two factors partly explain the sales drop, Imax said in a press release.
On the plus side, the recently-released Batman movie, The Dark Knight, has proven to be beneficial to Imax's bottom line.
The movie, The Dark Knight, helped improve Imax's Q2 bottom line.(Warner Bros./Stephen Vaughan/Associated Press)The movie, which was partially shot using Imax cameras, has grossed a record $32 million for Imax in the first 19 days of its release.
Overall, the movie has grossed more than $400 million so far, according to distributor Warner Bros.
"The Dark Knight appears to be nothing short of a cultural phenomenon and we are delighted to be a part of it," said Imax's co-CEOs Richard Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler.
"Looking ahead, we believe the combination of having approximately 50 digital systems in operation by year-end and the strength of our second-half film slate, led by The Dark Knight should drive improved second-half financial performance. We continue to expect profitability in 2009."
Imax said the company has a record backlog of 246 theatre systems, an indication of the company's future revenue potential.
Imax gets almost half of its revenue from the sale of Imax equipment. The Toronto corporation derives the remainder of its sales from movie distribution and the operation of some Imax theatres.
Imax shares ended Thursday down 33 cents US in New York, finishing the session at $7.50.
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