Even though it’s fourth quarter earnings per share dipped from 31 cents to 19 cents year-over-year on USD $95.7 million in revenue, IMAX is optimistic it will return to pre-pandemic box office levels of USD $1.1 billion in 2023. During an earnings call on 22 February the premium large format giant pointed to COVID restrictions in China, one of its largest markets, as one reason revenue was down for the quarter.

In a statement, Richard L. Gelfond, Chief Executive Officer of IMAX, said of last year’s results, “Already in the new year, we’ve delivered our highest grossing first-run release ever with the ‘Avatar’ sequel, our best Chinese New Year box office ever, and multi-system agreements — demonstrating our prospects for strong box office and global network growth in 2023.”

IMAX netted USD $17.3 million in 2022, compared to $6.1 million in 2021, and currently has USD $415 million in liquidity.