Imax isn’t talking about speculation over a possible takeover after stock in the film technologies company spiked in after-hour market trading on Thursday.
Shares in Imax rose $3.62, or nearly 11 percent, to $37.50 after The Wall Street Journal report the company was in the early stages of fielding possible buyers for the company as premium large format (PLF) screens like its own transform the multiplex experience.
Executives at Imax declined direct comment on the report the company was headed to the auction block. But Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told a recent investors day in Dec. 2025 that his company was a more valuable property as consumers paid extra for Imax and other big screen experiences at the local multiplex.
“So as this trend accelerates, Imax becomes an incredibly valuable player, either as a wholly differentiated publicly traded company or as part of a larger company with the keys to unlock even greater value and are strong business worldwide,” Gelfond told investors as he was asked about the future of Imax.
The sales process for Imax is at an early stage as major Hollywood studios double down on theatrical releases with longer windows coming out of the pandemic, and may not result in a transaction, the paper’s reporting added.
Avatar: Fire and Ash and Project Hail Mary are the latest performers on the premium film technology company’s screens as Hollywood looks to high-end, immersive movie experiences to win consumers back to the multiplex. Despite accounting for just 1 percent of North American screens, Imax said it captured nearly 20 percent of opening weekend grosses for major titles like Sinners and Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning in the last year.
A possible takeover play for Imax comes as the entertainment industry responds to the rise of event cinema by bolstering their premium PLF strategy for tentpole releases. And Imax’s studio suppliers, besides leveraging in-demand Imax screen experiences at the cinema, are also increasingly shooting their own movies with proprietary Imax cameras.
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