science

IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand IMAX Corporation rather than just read about it. In short: IMAX Corporation is a Canadian production theatre company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliated theatres worldwide. Founded in Montreal in 1967, it is headquartered in Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area, with operations in New York City and Los Angeles.

Key takeaways

IMAX Corporation belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect IMAX Corporation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of IMAX Corporation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

IMAX Corporation is a Canadian production theatre company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliated theatres worldwide. Founded in Montreal in 1967, it is headquartered in Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area, with operations in New York City and Los Angeles. As of November 2025, there were 1,759 IMAX theatres located in 90 countries, of which 1,693 were in commercial multiplexes. These include IMAX variations such as IMAX 3D, IMAX Dome, and Digital IMAX. The CEO is Richard Gelfond.

History IMAX is a Canadian corporation that is based in Mississauga, Ontario. The company was founded in 1967 when three filmmakers—Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr—incorporated IMAX Corporation. The idea and the new technology, which resulted in the birth of the company, came from the multi-screen productions of Roman Kroitor, Colin Low and Hugh O'Connor. In the Labyrinth and Ferguson's Man and the Polar Regions (on which Robert Kerr collaborated), both screened at the Expo 67. From their experience, Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr realized that new technology would be necessary to develop a larger and more complex project than previously seen. As a result, they sought an engineer named William Shaw in 1968 (he had gone to Galt Collegiate Institute in Galt, Ontario, now Cambridge, with Ferguson and Kerr) to help develop this technology. Shaw created this new projector that allowed for films to have exceptional quality and to be ten times larger than conventional 35mm picture frames. The first movie IMAX Corporation produced using this new technology was Tiger Child, which was featured at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. It was because of the multi-screen viewing that Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr wanted to create a theatre with giant screens, surround sound and stadium seating. William Shaw was instrumental in helping IMAX Corporation fulfill its ambitions in creating larger and more realistic experiences for audience which included oversized screens, surround sound and steep seating for better viewing. Shaw remained at IMAX (although officially retired) as a designer and inventor until his death on August 31, 2002, at the age of 73. Before retiring, Shaw created a 3D camera which was sent to the International Space Station for IMAX films. In 1994, investment bankers Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler acquired IMAX Corporation through a leveraged buyout and publicly listed the company on the NASDAQ stock exchange. IMAX then began to focus their abilities on attracting Hollywood production houses. Another engineer at IMAX Corporation, Brian Bonnick, Chief Technology Officer at IMAX Corporation, developed technologies that made it possible for the worldwide IMAX to produce major Hollywood films. More flexible technology required by that industry led to the development of the IMAX DMR (Digital Re-Mastering), which was able to adapt quickly in various locations. Newer technology followed, including the IMAX Experience and the IMAX MPX theatre system. Revamped IMAX 2D footage has been transferred into IMAX 3D. In September 2022, IMAX Corporation acquired streaming technology company Ssimwave for $21 million in a cash and stock deal.

Recent milestones In April 2009, Gelfond became the sole IMAX CEO and Wechsler moved into the role of chairman of the board of directors. Later in 2009, IMAX participated in the movie Avatar, to which the company credits its mainstream Hollywood success. In March 2011, IMAX noted that China's Wanda Cinema Line announced a 75-theatre deal with IMAX Corporation. In 2012, IMAX opened its first location in Tianjin, China. On October 8, 2015, IMAX China, a subsidiary of the company, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to The Hollywood Reporter and The Wall Street Journal, "IMAX China raised $248 million in its initial public offering," which was the "bottom of [the] indicative price range." As of December 2019, there were 1,624 theatres in 81 countries and territories.

Co-productions

In November 2016, Marvel Television and IMAX announced the live action television series Marvel's Inhumans, based on the superhero race of the same name. The series, co-produced with ABC Studios, saw IMAX serve as a financing partner, a first for IMAX, which allowed Marvel to spend more on the series than it had on its other television series, especially for visual effects. The entire series was filmed with IMAX digital cameras. Inhumans debuted an edited specific for theatrical-release version of the first two episodes. The episodes debuted on IMAX screens in theatres worldwide in September 2017, with the series airing weekly on ABC afterwards. After the poor reception to the IMAX version of the first two episodes and a box office gross of $3.5 million, Richard Gelfond said, "Going forward, we intend to take a more conservative approach consistent with the Game of Thrones approach to capital investments and content. We will be more conservative when considering whether to invest our own capital; and if so, to what extent."

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with IMAX Corporation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what IMAX Corporation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to IMAX Corporation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about IMAX Corporation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of IMAX Corporation

In research: IMAX Corporation appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses IMAX Corporation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: IMAX Corporation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1967 establishments in Quebec, 3D imaging, Canadian companies established in 1967, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for IMAX Corporation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study IMAX Corporation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what IMAX Corporation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain IMAX Corporation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is IMAX Corporation in simple terms?

Why does IMAX Corporation matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study IMAX Corporation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on IMAX Corporation.