IMAX -- the Canadian large-format film company based in Mississauga -- was born out of the cradle of so much Canadian innovation, Expo '67, when a small group of entrepreneurs decided to make a single, giant-screen projection system. The first permanent screen was installed at Ontario Place in 1971, and the technology has waxed and waned in popularity ever since.
But with the development of IMAX 3D and the tipping-point popularity of films that capitalize on the technology such as
Avatar and
Alice in Wonderland, business has been booming. The IMAX corporation recorded its first profitable year in three years in 2009, a year in which its stock price nearly tripled and it increased box office revenue for its films by 225% over the previous year. And that, company president Richard Gelfond pointed out in a
recent interview, is in a year when most of the
Avatar revenue was not yet included. "Avatar played a crucial role in increasing brand awareness with consumers. So people who've never been to IMAX before went for the first time to see Avatar. And it's early, but the evidence is they're coming back again..." he told
The Motley Fool.com.
As it
adds new
screens across
North America and
around the
world, it is poised to grow even more. All that growth means more jobs at the head office. The company is hiring
three new staff members immediately.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: IMAX Corporation;
The Motley Fool
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