IMAX Hits $28M Record With F1 Movie Global Debut

IMAX Sets the Pace for Formula One Epic’s Strong Debut with Massive 23% of Domestic Box Office

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) today announced an outsized opening weekend for Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “F1^®: The Movie” — delivering a $28 million global debut. Filmed for IMAX and presented entirely in IMAX-exclusive expanded aspect ratio, “F1^®: The Movie” vastly outperformed in IMAX, with the IMAX network accounting for 23% of the film’s North American bow and over 19% of its global debut, the fourth-best global result ever.

“With the most realistic racing sequences ever committed to film, ‘F1^®: The Movie’ quite simply demands to be experienced in IMAX and audiences around the world clearly got that message,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer brought IMAX in as a partner alongside Apple Originals and Warner Bros., innovating and pushing our technology to new frontiers to deliver a film tailormade for IMAX that we expect moviegoers will continue to seek out on our screens through the U.S. holiday weekend ahead.”

In North America, IMAX delivered a $13 million opening weekend, good for 23% of overall Domestic debut for “F1^®: The Movie.” Internationally, the IMAX network generated over $11 million in box office for “F1^®: The Movie,” delivering more than 12% of the weekend total in a diverse collection of markets including the UK, Japan, and South Korea. “F1^®: The Movie” also delivered nearly $4 million across IMAX screens in China — a whopping 43% of the overall nationwide debut — where IMAX presented an exclusive live broadcast of the F1^® Spanish Grand Prix across select locations last month.

The 2025 summer blockbuster season is highlighted by an unprecedented run of eight consecutive Filmed for IMAX Hollywood releases, which have yielded strong results to date:

Through the debut of “F1^®: The Movie,” IMAX has delivered 10% or better of the North American opening weekend box office on the first six of those releases.
IMAX has delivered 20% or better of the domestic debut on eight films in history, with three having come in recent months - “Sinners,” “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” and now “F1^®: The Movie.”
Alongside “F1^®: The Movie,” IMAX delivered 20% of the North American debut of “Sinners” — helping fuel two of the biggest original IP film launches of the year.
Filmed for IMAX releases Warner Bros./DC Studios’ “Superman” and Disney/Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: The First Steps” are yet to come in July.

Partnering with Apple Original Films and the filmmakers, “F1^®: The Movie” was shot with more than a dozen newly designed IMAX-certified digital cameras strategically positioned to capture the speed, precision, and intensity of racing like never before, including Brad Pitt driving at 180 mph. The film is presented entirely in IMAX’s exclusive 1.90:1 expanded aspect ratio and with a custom sound mix tailored to IMAX’s acoustician-designed sound system, featuring the industry’s largest speakers, laser-aligned for pinpoint audio precision. Director Joseph Kosinski worked closely with IMAX, including reviewing camera tests at IMAX HQ during pre-production, and made specific creative and technical decisions to deliver a movie designed for the IMAX Experience^®.

About IMAX Corporation

IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture, and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX systems to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, making IMAX's network among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles, with additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of March 31, 2025, there were 1,810 IMAX systems (1,738 commercial multiplexes, 11 commercial destinations, 61 institutional) operating in 89 countries and territories. Shares of IMAX China Holding, Inc., a subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code “1970”.

IMAX^®, IMAX^® 3D, Experience It In IMAX^®, The IMAX Experience^®, DMR^®, Filmed For IMAX^®, IMAX LIVE™, and IMAX Enhanced^® are trademarks and trade names of IMAX Corporation or its subsidiaries that are registered or otherwise protected under laws of various jurisdictions. For more information, visit www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Instagram (www.instagram.com/imax), Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/imax), X (www.twitter.com/imax), and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).