WEBVTT - Imax CEO Richard Gelfond Bets on the Biggest Screen 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:10.040 Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcasts featuring conversations with 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:13.880 industry leaders about the business of entertainment. Today's guest is 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:18.720 Richard Gelfond, CEO of Imax Corporation, The company that Gelfond 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:23.560 has headed since operates more than large format screens in 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:27.960 eighty countries. In preparation for the film industry's annual CinemaCon 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:32.959 conference in Las Vegas this week, Gelfond spoke with Brent Lange, Varieties, 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.400 Executive editor of Film and Media, about the box office 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:39.879 success of Captain Marvel, the rise of Netflix, and the 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:45.599 future of the exhibition business. So I'm here in our 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:48.440 New York office with rich Gelfond, who is the chief 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:53.320 executive officer of Imax Corporation, and we're sitting down. Um, 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:56.639 it's just a couple of days after Captain Marvel has 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.240 totally dominated the box office. So I guess, Rich, first 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.240 of all, I mean, what what was your sort of 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.120 take on the results? Were you expecting Captain Marvel to 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:07.920 be as big as it as it was? I was 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:11.560 certainly expecting Captain Marvel to be big, Brent. I had 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.920 seen it a couple of weeks before it came out 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:16.400 and I thought it was one of the best Marvel 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:20.240 movies I've ever seen, particularly an Imax and the way 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:24.000 it tied into Avengers, I was quite bullish. But with 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:28.080 that said, for Imaxes opening weekend internally we had it 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.520 had at about thirty million dollars worldwide, and it did 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:35.880 thirty six million dollars worldwide, so I was surprised. I 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:38.960 think the place I was the most surprised was the 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:43.440 international outside of China, where we did about twelve million dollars, 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:47.840 and in countries like Russia and France where I wasn't 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:52.080 quite sure how a female superhero would play, it played 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.560 extraordinarily well. So I was a little surprised. Why do 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:57.760 you think this film was so successful? What was it 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.280 about it that that people responded to? I think the 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:06.040 character was really special because, um, Bree Larson played kind 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:09.240 of an ordinary person. Um. I know, it's been compared 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.799 to Wonder Woman and we did very well, and Wonder 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:15.480 Woman also, but Gal Gadot is much more glamorous and 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.640 much more kind of extroverted, and Brie Larson is more 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:22.480 sort of I could be your next door neighbor, but 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.440 a very tough next door neighbor. And I think people 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:29.680 related to that. I think fanboys also were very curious 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:32.440 how it would tie in to The Avengers, which is 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.560 coming in around a month, and um, I think all 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.760 of that work well. There are plot twists, UM. I 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:43.639 think there were social statements um about women's um uh 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:47.000 empowerment that I think we're very timely but where we 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:49.640 are today, um, and it was just a very good movie. 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.600 Are you are you seeing that are our stories that 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:58.359 are more inclusive, that uh have underrepresented groups with lead roles? 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:00.799 I mean, are they playing well? I mean, is is 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:04.799 this an area that that you think Hollywood should mind 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:08.280 more in terms of your own box office? Well, certainly 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:10.560 if you look at the last two years, with Black 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:14.440 Panther last year and Captain Marvel this year, the answer 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:19.080 would be unequivocally yes. And I think even um um, 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:21.000 I'm trying to remember. I think it was Coco, the 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:25.960 Disney animated movie, which did extremely well. So I think absolutely, 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:30.120 I think, um, you know, it's proven, it's it's long overdue. 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:33.560 They should have tried, not just they, everyone should have 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:37.520 tried movies outside of the traditional mainstream of characters. And 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:41.320 it appears to be really working. Well, you know, people 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:45.200 for years have been talking about comic book fatigue, superhero fatigue. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.640 You know that they're there with all of these different 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:51.920 companies launching movies about costumed heroes that that you know, 0:03:51.960 --> 0:03:55.160 there could be kind of fatigue around that the audience 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:58.480 could reject it. You look at something like Captain Marvel 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:02.000 or are you seen evident of this? Well, Captain Marvel 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:05.320 was one of our top five films of all time, 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.880 and the other four or the two Star Wars recent movies, 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:12.240 Jurassic World at Avengers. So this is the best origin 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:16.640 story we've ever done, so certainly that's not showing evidence 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:20.160 of fatigue. Every year we have something called the CEO 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:24.440 Forum that IMAX runs and we invite exhibitors from all 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.599 over the world of the world's box office. The CEO 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.799 has come and several years ago we had Kevin Fagy, 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:33.760 I think it was three or four years ago, and 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:37.440 someone said at that point, are we seeing superhero fatigue? 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:39.880 And Kevin gave one of the best answers that I 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:42.760 had heard. He said, you know, a comic book is 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:46.560 just a book, and movies have been based on books 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:49.760 for decades, and you don't run out of book. So 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:51.520 the question is you know, do you run at a 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:55.440 comic books. I do think maybe there's a related question, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.440 which is are there limits to sequels and how long 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:01.400 they could play? And I think there probably are limits 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.520 to sequels and at some point, you know, they die 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.160 a natural cycle. But I think that comic books there's 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.720 so many different ideas, and you know, back to your 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.440 last question, Brent about diversity, I think we've only begun 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:18.040 to mind some of the diverse kinds of characters, so 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:20.400 I think this has a long way to run. Well, 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.400 that's interesting you were talking about sequels and franchises, because 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:27.360 in any given year, those seem to be the films 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:30.360 that are dominating the box office. Franchises seem to be 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.680 the kinds of movies that studios want to make. In 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:36.279 the past, we've also seen some some indications that maybe 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:38.280 there are some franchises that are getting a little long 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:40.600 in the tooth. Does that worry you at all that 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:45.359 the businesses so reliant on uh sequels and franchises. I 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:49.720 think you have to separate out sequels from franchise blockbuster 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:53.760 type properties. As you know, i'm ax is really dependent 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:58.200 on blockbusters. Were not an exhibitor. Sometimes people say we're not. 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.560 We're North America an exhibit or well, the irony is 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:05.320 we're not North American. Seventy of our revenues are outside 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:07.919 of North America, and we're not an exhibitor because we 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:11.480 don't play a lot of movies. We just play blockbuster movies. 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:15.240 So obviously we have a special interest in making sure 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:18.520 that blockbuster movies keep up. But if you look at 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:21.240 you know, even this year, what's going on. Captain Marvel 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:26.240 is a new UM franchise that's being established. UM. Lion King, 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:29.520 although it's related to other films, is kind of a 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:34.279 standalone franchise coming coming along. Wonder Woman last year was 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:37.960 a new franchise, A Leader, which did very well for us. 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:41.480 We did close to percent of the U S box 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.839 office in the Chinese box office. Was a new character 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:48.560 and a new franchise. So yes, you have some franchises 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:54.120 like Avengers Endgame UM, which was filmed completely with iMX cameras, 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.240 being at the end of their cycle, and you have 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:58.920 this Star Wars segment at the end of the year 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:01.279 being the end of the cycle. But again, if you 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:06.560 look ahead UM to of Top Gun being revitalized, you 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:09.760 have Chris Nolan doing a new movie. And as you know, 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:14.320 other than Batman, Chris tends to create new franchises, and 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:18.160 Chris really likes working with us in Imax and using 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:21.360 our cameras. I look forward to that, um you know 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:27.640 the next yes he will and m So I think franchise. 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:31.080 I think franchises will end, but new ones will start. 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:33.400 And you know, you look at some of the um 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.800 new things this year. It it's it too, but it 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.680 just you know it started last year us. Um. I 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:43.760 mean there are different kinds of projects coming in as 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:47.200 some of the franchises fade out, and fortunately I think 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:50.440 the public has an appetite for really good ones um 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:53.360 that work. Um you know, going back just to December, 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.560 look whatid Aquaman? I mean that was not a franchise 0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:59.720 that existed, and we were heavily involved with that. It 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:03.320 was h terrific film. Jason Momo is excellent. And now 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:08.040 they've announced um Aquaman too for a few years from now. 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:12.400 So I think there's a constant replenishment. Uh So, let's 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.960 talk a little bit about what is IMAX. What do 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:17.480 you see? Obviously I know about the technology, A lot 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.600 of people have been to the theaters. How would you 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.480 kind of describe the perfect IMAX film, how do you 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:28.320 define your brand? I think the perfect IMAX film is 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.040 something that takes you somewhere you otherwise couldn't go. So 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.640 I think in Aquaman, you went to the bottoms of 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:38.160 the ocean. I think in some of these super hero movies, 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:42.800 you're immersed in the experience. I think it's much more experiential, 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:47.439 much more um first party than third party. So when 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:50.400 people go to the movies, they tend to watch other 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:54.559 people involved in the action, and the director focuses their 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.080 I on the part of the movie that they want 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.880 them to act, they want them to look at. Where 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.640 an IMAX I think it's just much more like your 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.000 part of the experience. So the screen is bigger, the 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:09.880 resolution is higher, the image is brighter, the sound is louder. 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.480 So when you go to an IMAX and I won't 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.200 even call it a movie, I'll call it an Imax experience, 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.199 it's a whole different visceral reaction. And as a matter 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:22.560 of fact, some of the services UM whether it's in 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:26.960 China that does online testing or exit surveys, it shows 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:30.160 consumers like the movie much better when they see it 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.160 in Imax. And the reason for that is UM. In 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.160 a way, it becomes partly their own movie, not just 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:40.480 the director's movie, because the director is creating this incredible 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:43.680 world and UM sort of directing you way to look 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.360 at it. But you can go multiple times and you 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.120 look at the world in different ways. As a matter 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.760 of fact, I'm almost embarrassed to admit this, but I 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:55.480 liked Captain Marvel so much. I saw it twice before 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.080 it even open, and the second time I saw it, 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:00.920 I liked it even better than the first time because 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:03.120 I was more familiar with the story, so I could 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:07.320 enjoy the visual experience even more so. I think the 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.839 common elements when you said, you know what would be 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:13.800 the ideal one would be visual splendor. Place you can 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:17.480 feel you're traveling to that you couldn't go. And by 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:21.200 the way, that's one reason the Imax documentaries works so well. 0:10:21.240 --> 0:10:24.720 Apollo eleven just came out in Imax and the numbers 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:29.600 were very impressive. Free Solo, which won the Academy Award UM, 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:34.280 came out in Imax. Historically, our space films are underwater films. 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:38.679 I think Imax is a truly transportive mechanism, and you 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:41.679 can't get anything like that on the couch. And I 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:45.480 think that's one one reason why, when the rest of 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:49.680 the movie business is sort of chugging along at relatively 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:54.280 slow growth rates, were growing so rapidly because the consumer 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:57.439 can see lots of things in the home that are 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:00.120 not that distinguished from what they're seeing at a move V. 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:03.320 But I think they're incredibly distinguished from what you see 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:07.440 at IMAX. You've also spawned imitators. Uh, A lot of 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.680 companies have their own premium large formats or whatever they're called. 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:15.520 I mean, what's your response to those kinds of experiences. Well, 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:18.480 you know, copying is the greatest form of flattery. It's 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.800 obviously going to happen. I think the whole industry has 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:25.600 gone more premium, and I think that's partly because of 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:29.760 in home entertainment. So for people to leave the home, Um, 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:32.400 they want something else that they can't get in the home. 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:36.680 But if you look at some measurements like percentage of 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:40.880 box office that IMAX does so um, you know, typically 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.040 if we have our d n A in it, meaning 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:47.679 our cameras or aspect ratio or some other element, um 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:53.120 where somewhere around twelve of the film on a typical 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:57.079 and that's in North America. In China, it's kind of similar. 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.199 The rest of the world. In territories where we are 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:04.400 it's similar, but we're not in every country, although we're 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.080 in a lot of them. But UM, the point is 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.840 our indexing has gone up. In the last several years, 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:15.480 has been more and more of these knockoff IMAX theaters, 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.760 and I think that says something. The whole category has 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.280 obviously grown a great deal, but I think as people 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:26.160 get educated to seeing a premium way to see a movie, 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:30.520 they realize that there's an enormous IMAX difference, so um, 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.440 you know, they'll seek out IMAX. Now, a lot of 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:39.200 these copycats don't have UM proprietary technology, almost all of them. 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:43.839 All they do is take a regular UM uh D 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:47.600 C p UM digital one and they play it on 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:50.760 a bigger screen. And as any kid knows has ever 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.480 put their hands on a xerox machine or tried to 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.280 blow things up, UM, the bigger it is the worst 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:00.040 it looks. And I think, you know, a lot of 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:02.600 people thought by putting X in their names that they 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:06.640 could confuse consumers and have consumers say, you know, well, 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:08.640 it's got an excit and it's a big screen, it 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.200 must be like IMAX. But again, if you look at 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:14.160 the empirical evidence, Um, I think I'd add to that, 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:18.600 which is probably even more important is the directors themselves. 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:22.160 So you know, when Chris Nolan releases a movie, or 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:26.240 when the Russo brothers are releasing Avengers, which they film 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:29.080 with IMAX cameras, you know, they don't go see it, 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:32.440 say see it in brand X. They all say, go 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:34.400 see it in IMAX. And I think a lot of 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:39.200 the fan boys and fan women follow that lead. So 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:41.480 you know, at some level, maybe it's good for the 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:45.200 business to educate people, um to the way to see 0:13:45.240 --> 0:13:47.720 a movie is, you know, not at home, not on 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.640 a small device, and not even on a small screen. 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:53.199 But at the end of the day, people aren't full 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:56.520 they know IMAX is the real thing. You were talking 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.440 about im X DNA having parts of the IMAX DNA, 0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:04.679 and I assume you're you're talking about IMAX cameras. How 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:08.520 many films typically use your cameras? Are there any that 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.160 are coming up that that have relied on them heavily? 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:14.520 So it's not just the cameras, although that that's part 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.000 of it, Brent so Um, it could be things UM 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:23.640 like aspect ratio. Regular cinema is much more vertical UM 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:28.680 to three five aspect ratio. Typically Imax is much more vertical. 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:33.000 So our aspect ratio could go anywhere from one six 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:37.320 five to one nine. And a number of the movies, UM, 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:41.400 including Captain Marvel which just came out, have more Imax 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:45.040 UM footage in them, and that just means it fills 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:48.520 more of the IMAX screen. It depends on the movie 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.440 and it depends on the theater. UM. But you know, 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:54.120 one of the things we say is twenty six percent 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.680 more image when we're doing the aspect ratio, and many 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:01.800 filmmakers covered to that. I'm X aspect great show UM 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:05.000 when they shoot beyond that. As you said, UM, there 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:08.560 are instances where we use Imax cameras and there are 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:11.880 a number of films this year that are using Imax 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.680 cameras as well as next year. UM. I mentioned to 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.720 next year, Chris Nolan is using it. UM. The Russo 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:23.160 Brothers used Imax cameras to film the entire UM Avengers 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:26.400 Endgame that's coming out soon. UM. There are a number 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:30.760 of other movies UM that we haven't announced yet that 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.360 that are using them. We have announced wonder Woman is 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.880 using Imax cameras. So over the next couple of years, 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:40.000 if you asked me, I would say, you know, probably 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:43.040 four to six will use the camera, and more than 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:47.160 that will have special Imax DNA in it. The cameras 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:51.080 themselves are are pretty heavy, right, I mean, is that 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:53.400 have you been able to to slim them down it 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.320 at all? Well, there are two kinds of cameras. There 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:01.160 are digital cameras and there are film cameras. So the 0:16:01.200 --> 0:16:04.720 digital cameras what we've been working on a special lenses 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:09.000 that fit on cameras that filmmakers are used to working with. 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.440 So those are just regular cameras that can and then 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:16.160 they're enhanced by Imax to enable them to capture the 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:21.720 Imax um aspect ratio and the IMAX characteristics. They're also 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:26.520 film cameras, which you're referring to, which are heavy cameras. UM. No, 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:31.840 we can't lighten them because uh, fifteen seventy film is 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:37.280 really big and really heavy. Um. But filmmakers UM, primarily 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.960 led by Chris Nolan um have learned how to maneuver 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:44.040 those cameras. So I can't say I wasn't nervous at first, 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.240 but Chris has figured out, you know, how to put 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:49.160 them in airplanes. Um, we figured out how to take 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:53.720 them underwater. Um. You know we've done scenes handheld. As 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.680 you may remember years ago, they were carried to the 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.120 top amount Everest. So they are not ideal to work with. 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.760 But on the other hand, the output is so phenomenal 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.679 and the response is so great. So you know, on 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:09.600 some of these movies where we've used our cameras, we've 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.919 indexed over of the box office. So I think the 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.920 filmmakers find it worthwhile. And if it's just too much 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.199 for the way they've designed the movie because of the 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:23.000 way they'll use a digital camera. Uh, as we sit down. 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:27.680 Just moments ago, actually, uh, Disney announced that it's gonna 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:32.359 be closing its Steel to acquire Fox on March. UM, 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:36.400 I wonder what consolidation means for you. Are you worried 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:39.639 that there's gonna be a fewer one fewer studio providing 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:44.120 content for your theaters? Do you think? Uh, there will 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:46.600 be new players who will emerge who will fill that void. 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:49.560 So in our case, I'm not worried, and that's because 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:52.119 Disney is one of our best partners in the world. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:56.919 And um, Disney and Imax have developed an organization wide 0:17:57.280 --> 0:18:03.160 close working relationships. So UM for Captain Marvel, Disney produced 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:07.920 special art with IMAX's frame around it and uses us 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:11.160 as a marketing tool for the campaign. And I think 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:16.720 Disney really understands that the brand association between Disney and Marvel, 0:18:17.160 --> 0:18:21.400 are particularly on a global basis because we're in eighty countries, 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.479 is a good thing for Disney. I think UM the 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:30.199 Imax name helps in a way curate a very crowded field. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.119 It says to the audience, this is a special movie. 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.560 Maybe it was filmed a special way. It's certainly shown 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.560 a certain way, and the filmmakers will talk about it. 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:44.399 And I think as Disney acquires Fox, UM Disney will 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:48.640 UM do even a better job than Fox at eventicizing 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:52.040 some of the Fox movies. So the most obvious ones 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:57.199 are the UM the reuniting of the Marvel universe, and 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:00.439 I think UM Disney and Kevin Figi will do a 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:04.080 really good job of further promoting that. But we already 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.800 had a very good experience with Fox. Some Bohemian Rhapsody 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:12.080 was a huge upside surprise for us, and Alito was 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:16.120 another one that was some UM you know, surprise upside 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:19.199 for us. So I think Disney will further try and 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:23.400 evmtasize the Fox properties, and given our relationship and given 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:27.920 our position as the place to evmtasize content out of home, 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:31.520 I think that will be very positive. I'm the second 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:35.440 part of your question about additional content. UM. I do 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:40.560 think because um the theater the studios are going into streaming, 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:45.520 and the streaming companies are going into theatrical, there'll be 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:49.159 an abundance of new content. And I do think, again, 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.439 going back to the point I just made about curating, 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:56.320 I think people are gonna try and separate themselves in 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.560 the field. So when you know one of the streaming 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:02.840 service as spends over a hundred million dollars UM to 0:20:02.920 --> 0:20:06.000 make a film online, I think it's going to have 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:09.159 to have a theatrical run at some point. And I 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:12.639 know your next question will be about windows, UM, but 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:15.440 I think they're gonna come to terms what they're needing 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:19.040 to be some windows if they want Theatrical and Imax 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:21.800 to play them. So I think, you know, in addition 0:20:21.920 --> 0:20:26.879 to Disney UM Fox being part of a broader good trend, 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:30.080 there's just a lot more content. And again, when you 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:34.200 go in the future and whether it's released theatrically or 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:37.639 whether it's released streaming wise, UM, how are you going 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:40.359 to curate all that content? And I think you know, 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.879 particularly over the past five to ten years, IMAX has 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.199 played a pivotal role in curating and and kind of 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:51.320 pointing audiences with UM with our blue frame and saying 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:53.800 this is where you see it in a special way. 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:56.680 So I think I don't know exactly how it'll play 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:58.960 out bround, we have to see that, but I think 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:01.520 it's going to be good for us. Well, you you 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:05.280 absolutely correctly anticipated my next question, which is about when 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:09.440 doing I mean, what do you think UM is going 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:12.040 to happen with this debate? I mean, we've already seen 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:17.159 a lot of very heated emotions around this issue, around 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:20.919 the issue of Netflix and when and if they're going 0:21:20.960 --> 0:21:23.080 to be any kind of theatrical release with its films. 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:27.040 Is there gonna be some middle ground found here? UM? 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:29.959 If you ask my guests, the answer would be yes. Again, 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:34.800 because of UM we're housed in UM and multipoxes, and 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:38.880 our partners or exhibitors will only play films if our 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:43.560 exhibition partners agree to it. Period. End of it. But 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:47.200 with that said, I do think it's going to come 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:49.920 to a middle ground at some point. Um. You saw 0:21:50.040 --> 0:21:54.160 Netflix with Roma started to chip away at it. UM. 0:21:54.359 --> 0:21:56.040 I don't know if you saw the ad during the 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:59.399 Oscars for The Irishman with Netflix, but they made a 0:21:59.480 --> 0:22:03.800 point to say there was a theatrical release. And I believe, um, 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.240 there'll be a bigger windows than they were around Roma. 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:10.960 Whether they're good enough for exhibitors and therefore whether we 0:22:11.080 --> 0:22:13.600 play it as an open story, but I do think 0:22:13.600 --> 0:22:16.520 they're gonna move in that direction. And I think if 0:22:16.520 --> 0:22:20.879 they do move in that direction, eventually, UM, some of them, 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:24.440 some of the studios are gonna meet in the middle somewhere. 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:29.840 With that said that theatrical experience is crucial. UM. I 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:33.919 went with my wife to Pompeii UM this summer and 0:22:33.960 --> 0:22:37.359 there was a theater built thousands of years ago. And 0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:41.480 you know, the theatrical experience is something that's existed, um 0:22:41.640 --> 0:22:46.399 for extremely long time as part of human civilization. And 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:50.159 there's been all kinds of changes in the movie industry. Obviously, 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:55.520 there's been talking, there's been television, there's been DVD, there's 0:22:55.560 --> 0:22:59.760 been VHS, there's been and now there's streaming and movies 0:23:00.000 --> 0:23:02.760 have survived all of those. In the theater is still 0:23:02.800 --> 0:23:06.480 a very very special experience, and I think it's gonna 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:10.680 remain so, you know, way way into the future. But 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:14.040 you know, whether the right number is twelve weeks or 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:17.280 whatever it is, I do think they're gonna be economic 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:21.600 pressures where UM the exhibitors are going to agree over 0:23:21.720 --> 0:23:25.640 time to some middle ground. I mean, do you think 0:23:25.640 --> 0:23:28.240 the theatrical window is too long at ninety days or 0:23:28.240 --> 0:23:31.719 whatever it is? Roughly it seems like studios maintain it 0:23:31.760 --> 0:23:35.480 is too long. So you know, Fortunately for IMAX, I 0:23:35.480 --> 0:23:38.240 don't have to get into that debate because we play 0:23:38.280 --> 0:23:40.879 movies for one week or two weeks, and in an 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:43.760 occasional case it will be three weeks. We're not in 0:23:43.880 --> 0:23:48.119 the UM movie business per se. We're in the blockbuster business. 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:51.119 So you know, whatever the windows are, UM people are 0:23:51.119 --> 0:23:55.960 gonna want to see Captain Marvel, Avengers, Star Wars, Lion King, 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:59.639 Wonder Woman, et cetera in IMAX, So you know, I 0:23:59.640 --> 0:24:02.600 don't have to weigh into that debate. I think, you know, 0:24:02.640 --> 0:24:05.080 wherever they all work out, it's going to be fine 0:24:05.119 --> 0:24:11.119