General atmosphere during a private IMAX screening of the film “First Man” at an AMC theater in New York City on October 10, 2018.
Lars Niki | Getty Images Entertainment | fake images
The theater industry is constantly changing and one stock is rising above the rest.
IMAX Its shares rose more than 44% in 2025, even before the company announced that it had generated a record $1.28 billion at the global box office during the year. Those ticket sales marked an increase of more than 40% from 2024 and were 13% higher than their previous record set in 2019.
Meanwhile, shares of other theatrical stocks AMC, Cinemark and Marcus Theaters sank in 2025. AMC fell more than 60%, Marcus Corporation, which operates movie theaters and hotel chains, plunged about 28%, and Cinemark stock fell 25%.
The sharp declines on Wall Street come as movie theater operators struggle to cope with massive changes in the industry.
National ticket sales have recovered from record lows during the Covid pandemic, but remain about 25% below the $11.8 billion raised in 2018, an unprecedented record. The 2025 box office fell short of the $9 billion that analysts had projected for the year, signaling to industry watchdogs that post-pandemic headwinds could be more permanent than anticipated.
“In an environment where consumer spending headwinds and economic concerns have forced consumers to make choices with their entertainment spending, streaming services continue to represent an attractive option,” Eric Wold, executive director of equity research at Texas Capital Securities, told CNBC.
At the same time that consumer habits have shifted toward the home entertainment market, Hollywood is producing fewer movies.
A combination of austerity on Wall Street, studio mergers and prolonged production shutdowns due to the pandemic and dual labor strikes has led to a significant drop in the number of films reaching theaters.
“I think investors are still struggling and, frankly, what everyone within the industry is still trying to figure out is what the true new normal is for the box office.” said Robert Fishman, senior research analyst at MoffettNathanson.
The reduction of cinema has left IMAX ahead of the rest.
Move towards premium
When theatrical offerings are scarce, IMAX benefits, because when moviegoers decide to get off their couches, they increasingly opt for premium, large-format experiences.
In 2025, more than 16% of tickets sold for national shows were for this type of venue, according to data from EntTelligence. That's up from 15% in 2024 and 13.8% in 2023.
Often called PLFs, premium large-format auditoriums are considered an elevated viewing experience, with larger screens and higher-quality sound systems and seating options, and have higher ticket prices.
In 2025, general movie tickets averaged $13.29 each, while PLF tickets cost about $17.65 each, EntTelligence data showed. For comparison, premium tickets in 2024 averaged around $16.88 each.
As Hollywood leans toward producing more big-budget blockbusters (while mid- to low-budget films are more often sent to streaming), PLF screens will become increasingly important.
After all, the films that benefit most from PLF ticket sales have been the biggest Hollywood releases, as audiences want to see explosive action films and dazzling spectacles in the latest locations.
ScreenX is the world's first multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270-degree field of view.
CJ 4DPLEX
On the agenda for 2026 is disney “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” Universal and “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan. netflix and “Narnia” by Greta Gerwig and Warner Bros. and “Dune: Part Three” by Denis Villeneuve.
All of these films were filmed with IMAX cinema cameras and will be released on IMAX screens.
The company has predicted that its global box office collection in 2026 will reach a new record of $1.4 billion.
“We see no signs of slowing down given the very promising outlook ahead and the consistency of our market share gains, as filmmakers, studios and audiences around the world continue to gravitate toward the IMAX experience,” IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement Wednesday.
As of the end of September, IMAX had more than 1,700 locations and a pipeline of 478 contracts to build IMAX screens. It should be noted that IMAX screens represent less than 1% of total movie screens worldwide.
Put profits
AMC, Cinemark and Marcus also have premium large-format movie screens as part of their suite of movie theaters and have invested in creating more such spaces in their theaters.
But the networks are playing catch-up.
AMC, in addition to its existing partnership with IMAX, plans to add more Dolby Cinema theaters to its U.S. locations, as well as Screen X and 4DX auditoriums globally. Cinemark also made investments last year to add more Screen X theaters to its portfolio.
Of course, these upgrades can be expensive. In AMC's case, pre-pandemic renovations saddled the company with billions in debt, which was compounded during Covid-related shutdowns. The company is still dealing with this debt load.
In IMAX's favor is the fact that the company is asset-light, meaning it has minimized its ownership of physical assets like buildings by leveraging its technology and partnering with other companies.
Instead of expensive real estate leases, IMAX makes deals with theater chains to install its equipment in their theaters and then takes a cut of the box office revenue from movies shown in those theaters.
AMC, Cinemark, Marcus and other movie theater operators, on the other hand, are financially burdened by rent and utility payments, which are only partially offset by the ticket sales they split with the studios. Concessions (popcorn, soft drinks, and specialty foods) have become the means for these companies to obtain sufficient funds to cover expenses.
But, if the production slate is not strong and theaters do not have enough content to attract moviegoers, then profitability is at risk.
In the first quarter of 2025, all three movie stocks posted net losses. Marcus and Cinemark returned to profitability in the second and third quarters as the movie schedule improved, while AMC posted two more periods in the red.
IMAX, on the other hand, was profitable in all three quarters. For the first nine months of 2025, IMAX reported net income of $43 million, up 67% from the same period in 2024.
All movie stocks will report fourth quarter results in the coming weeks as earnings reports are released.
