Oppenheimer Was a Smash Hit for IMAX

This has been a big year for big-screen company IMAX, with Oppenheimer giving a major boost to third-quarter revenue and profits. Fast Company, which declares IMAX the "real winner" of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, reports that IMAX Corporation's results for the quarter came in ahead of expectations with revenue of $103.9 million, up 51% quarter-on-quarter from last year, and net profit of $12 million compared to a $9 million loss last year. Globally, it was the company's second-highest grossing quarter of all time, Deadline reports.

The company says Oppenheimer—whose director, Christopher Nolan, has long championed IMAX cameras—accounted for 20% of IMAX global box office in the third quarter and is now in the top five IMAX releases of all time, behind only blockbusters like the Avatar movies. IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond says the company now has by far the "strongest and most diverse content portfolio in our history," including local language movies in markets like China as well as concert films and live events. Oppenheimer "was a game changer at a time when Hollywood and global cinema arguably needed it most," Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOfficePro.com, tells Fast Company.

"It's never a surprise to see superheroes and mega-budget, action-driven movies perform well in premium formats," Robbins says. "For a three-hour biographical thriller centered around compelling character development to generate the kind of business Oppenheimer has, though, simply reaffirms to studios that audiences want the industry to take bigger swings with a variety of content on the big screen." Starting Nov. 3, Oppenheimer will return for a rare IMAX encore on screens in California, New York City, London, and Melbourne, per the Hollywood Reporter. (More IMAX stories.)