In the race to secure IMAX screens next month, it appears Tom Cruise has lost out to Christopher Nolan according to Variety.
The other week came word that the Tom Cruise-led “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” which releases on July 12th, would only be able to occupy IMAX screens for around a week before it would have to give them up.
After that, Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has secured a three-week exclusive window across the entire North American 401 screen footprint of the giant format exhibitor starting with the film’s opening on July 21st.
Cruise reportedly made calls to remind people how “Top Gun: Maverick” saved the box office and how shortening the IMAX run of ‘Mission’ would see “involved parties” potentially “risk losing out on serious coinage.”
Greta Gerwig’s star-studded “Barbie” is also locked out of IMAX Theaters due to the Nolan arrangement. IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond tells the trade:
“I feel sad in a way we can’t accommodate all of them. I know ‘Mission: Impossible’ is going to be a really big movie. Nolan has a special place in Imax’s heart because he uses our cameras and promotes us. It’s not a matter of us saying which we can make more money on. I would hope after ‘Oppenheimer’s’ run, we can bring back ‘Mission.'”
As the trade indicates, whilst attendance hasn’t rebounded in pandemic times, the demand to watch films on premium large format screens (PLF) – which includes IMAX and others – has grown exponentially.
According to IMAX, the market share for the company is up 50% without adding any new screens – whereas overall moviegoing is down 33% from 2019.
