Imax CEO Rich Gelfond explains Ssimwave acquisition and plans for future deals

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Imax CEO Rich Gelfond chats acquisitions

, author of Photo illustration Axios Visuals. Photo: Imax CorporationExit Content Preview Imax is betting on a future where it's less reliant on the box office and more focused on the living room, CEO Rich Gelfond tells Axios. Why it matters: The theatrical business is facing an existential crisis amid the rise of streaming services, where moviegoing will probably never be the same as it was pre-pandemic. The latest: Imax's recent acquisition of tech firm Ssimwave, whose clients include Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, puts it right in the middle of the streaming ecosystem.While the first move will be to grow the Canada-based company's presence outside the U.S., Gelfond said acquiring Ssimwave's people is what drove the deal. The big picture: Imax, best known for its giant-screen projection technology and cameras, is trying to become a player in the home entertainment market.Last year, Imax worked with Disney+ to offer most of its Marvel films in Imax Enhanced format, a version of its big screen tech adapted for home viewing. "My ultimate dream has been, particularly in the home, to make a lot of better images and create higher quality using software," Gelfond says. "And if you want to dream, like, really big, eventually develop a chip that goes into TV sets — or maybe a software — and it uprises everything at an affordable cost." By the numbers: Moviegoing has rebounded, but attendance remains weak compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Compared to the same period in 2019, year-to-date U.S. box office revenues fell 34% to $6.1 billion, according to Box Office Mojo. "I think [the] pandemic, if it taught us one thing, was we need to diversify as far as the content," Gelfond says. "So in the quarter that just closed, 20-30% of our box office was with foreign language."Imax has also expanded outside of showing movies by livestreaming concerts and industry events such as Q&As with directors like Steven Spielberg. What's next: The media's fascination with the metaverse has led Imax to dip its toe back into virtual reality. "We're about to sign on with a fairly significant client for how to integrate in VR," he says.

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