The Hollywood Reporter has word that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon are considering theatrical IMAX releases and remain in active discussions with the format provider about a potential release.
“We’re in active discussions with all of the streaming [services] about an IMAX release,” said IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond to the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference earlier this week. “the number one way to event-size [a movie] is in IMAX,” he added, when talking about how to elevate these streaming options into big events. Particularly as these streaming channels become more invested in theatrical-type releases.
“The closest analogy I have is, if an airline said to you, you can sit in first class and drink champagne or you can sit in the back row. So where are people going to go? I noticed from informal discussions that a lot of them are going to IMAX,” Gelfond said.
The CEO also cited Damien Chazelle’s First Man as a prime example of the benefit of seeing a movie in the IMAX format, as he said he “got chills” when he watching Ryan Gosling’s Neil Armstrong first step onto the moon — a scene that was shot with IMAX cameras.
This news comes as Gelfond had already spoken out about working with home theater manufacturers like DTS to help bring the IMAX experience into people’s living rooms. Details are sketchy at the moment, as this is all preliminary discussions, but IMAX is clearly working very hard to stay relevant in an era where movie theaters are seeing decreased crowds, even after this past summer saw a bounce-back thanks to franchise staples like Avengers: Infinity War and the rom-com Crazy Rich Asians.
