Company Overview

Imax takes the average movie experience and puts it on high-tech steroids; Imax films are shown on enormous screens (at times 80-feet high) that pretty much immerse the viewer in the filmic experience, and the films are shown in 3-D in more than 100 of the company’s theaters.

The company originated in 1967 and directed its cinematic efforts toward educational and cultural institutions. Business was steady but insufficient, and Imax pretty much crawled along until the early 1990s, when it was bought out by investors and a production group that redirected its focus.

Honing in on the public’s affinity for topics such as dinosaurs, natural disaster, and outdoor adventure sports, the new adrenaline-meets-education image of Imax(which went public in 1994) experienced a surge of popularity. Imax is trying to expand its mainstream audience appeal even further by adapting versions of blockbuster hits. Star Trek: Episode 2—Attack of the Clones, Batman Returns, and The Lion King, and, most recently, Speed Racer, all have Imax versions. Another 2008 addition to the Imax list that put Imax into music mags and newspapers across the country is Martin Scorsese's Shine a Light documentary on The Rolling Stones.