IMAX crosses $200m in global Avatar ticket sales

Far and away the biggest global hit in IMAX history, Avatar added $4.3m from 173 North American screens and $3.9m from 84 international screens. The Polar Express held the previous world record of $71m.

“This incredible milestone not only reflects the mass appeal of watching Avatar in IMAX, it also reflects the significant expansion of our global audience base,” IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond said.

“Avatar was a perfect fit for IMAX and the type of event title IMAX fans and exhibitors embrace. We look forward to growing our audience even more as we continue to expand the IMAX network and offer moviegoers more of Hollywood’s biggest films.” 

In the Asia-Pacific market, the IMAX network has generated approximately $43m from 38 screens, with 20 IMAX screens in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Australia each generating more than $1m. 

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, IMAX delivered $32m from 35 screens, many of which surpassed the $1m mark. Moscow’s Nescafe IMAX Theatre has reported approximately $3m from its single IMAX screen, and the BFI IMAX in London more than $2.3m from its single screen.

“We reached this milestone thanks to the strong word of mouth about the experience of watching Avatarin IMAX, and the hard work of all of those at Lightstorm, Twentieth Century Fox, IMAX and our global exhibition partners,” Greg Foster, IMAX Filmed Entertainment chairman and president, said.

“Many exhibitors in domestic and international markets have pushed the boundaries of their operations to accommodate the high demand to experience this amazing movie in IMAX,” Phil Groves, IMAX’s senior vice-president of film distribution, said. “Many locations are still seeing strong business from extended show time schedules.”