Why IMAX Stock Crushed the Market on Monday
Key Points
A splashy movie drove audiences to the large-format cinemas.
Imax posted the highest-grossing second weekend in its history by showing the epic.
Several thousand years after his exploits became famous, Odysseus continued to bring the goods for IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) on Monday.
With the continuing excellent financial performance of Christopher Nolan's monster-budget The Odyssey, the movie exhibition and technology company's shares bumped almost 4% higher that trading session. This was in marked contrast to the flat-lining S&P 500 index.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Journey to the box office
In its second week of release, The Odyssey continued to be a popular, but as an epic designed with scope and scale in mind, it was really popular at IMAX theaters. Monday morning, the specialized entertainment company announced that such cinemas raked in $48 million in ticket sales for the film worldwide.
Image source: Getty Images.
This makes the latest adaptation of Homer's familiar story the highest-grossing weekend for IMAX showings of a movie in its second week of release. It also ranks No. 3 on the all-time list of highest-grossing IMAX weekends for any film.
All told, in those two weeks of release, The Odyssey has collected $140 million in global IMAX box office sales.
IMAX quoted CEO Rich Gelfond describing the popularity of the Christopher Nolan-directed movie on the massive screens as "staggering."
He added that the high-profile director "has crafted the type of masterwork that draws our biggest fans back to experience it two or three times -- while introducing entirely new fans to IMAX -- and we are only beginning to see the impact that will have on our brand and business."
Inaugural visit to the big, big screen
And that's what impressed investors. Not only is the film drawing experienced IMAX-goers to theaters to experience the millennia-old tale, it's also drafting first-timers into the format. I don't blame investors at all for being bullish on IMAX's future, given that dynamic.
Should you buy stock in IMAX right now?
Before you buy stock in IMAX, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and IMAX wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $377,990!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,269,518!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 896% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 27, 2026.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
Comments (0)
Click the $ button, enter the symbol, and select to link a stock, ETF, or other ticker.