Imax Corporation CEO Richard Gelfond talks about constant technological innovation, and why people love going to the cinema
During Richard Gelfond’s recent visit to India, he spoke about technological innovations at Imax Corporation, growing bigger in the Indian market and a lot more. Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India
Richard Gelfond started his first business as an eight-year-old, polishing shoes at barber shops across New York. Later, in high school, he went on to starting a sports magazine called New York Ball. Gelfond knew business was his calling, but being raised in a lower-middle class family, his parents insisted he study law. “So, I went to law school, and didn’t like being a lawyer. It was boring,” he says. Over the years, he set up various businesses.
In 1994, his firm Cheviot Capital Advisors acquired Imax. “I was always entrepreneurial, but this is better than shining shoes,” Gelfond laughs. At that time, Imax had only 50 theatres that showcased movies that were mostly documentaries about space or wildlife, at science centres and museums. Twenty-nine years later, Imax has transitioned from niche to mainstream entertainment, with close to 1,800 theatres worldwide.
During Gelfond’s recent visit to India, he spoke to Forbes India about technological innovations at Imax Corporation, growing bigger in the Indian market and a lot more. Edited excerpts:
Q. How important is India as a market for Imax?
When we were setting the calendar for 2023, I told my team that I’d like to visit a market that was very significant to us. Without hesitating, they said, you must go to India. It’s really the right time for us to be in India, because we are coming off a year where we had several breakthroughs. In 2022, we released about six Indian language films, like RRR, KGF and Ponniyin Selvan:I in Imax, and about one-third of our total box office [earnings] was from Indian films.