Greta Gerwig’s Narnia, moving from a Thanksgiving 2026 release to open in theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, before heading to Netflix, has left Imax having to fill a now-open exclusive Thanksgiving berth later this year.
And Imax CEO Rich Gelfond was chomping at the bit on Tuesday to announce his exclusive replacement release for Thanksgiving 2026, but decided against making that the headline. “Obviously it’s a good time of the year to release a movie, and I was hoping on this call to be able to announce what’s going into that slot, and we’re really close,” Gelfond told the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference in Boston during a session that was webcast.
“We’re on the verge of replacing it,” Gelfond added as he appeared via a video link, as he continues to recover from a temporary medical leave to undergo treatment for pneumonia and cannot do air travel. The original pact Imax had with Netflix for Narnia was to have seen the C.S. Lewis book series adaptation get a global release in Imax theaters during the key Thanksgiving holiday period, two weeks before the online debut.
Gelfond added that, despite the release date shift for Narnia, the exclusive Thanksgiving release for the film technologies company will continue this year and into future years. “Longer term, I think the model that we put together will continue to exist. You know, it may be a different partner, it may be different specific terms. But I’m quite confident that we’re having an Imax exclusive release along the lines of what we talked about,” Gelfond added.
He also discussed Walt Disney unveiling Infinity Vision, a new certification for premium large format (PLF) theaters, starting with the September re-release of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame, followed by the December release of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, while Imax locked up Dune 3 for an exclusive three-week run in a major holiday showdown.
Gelfond said Imax had a deal with Warner Bros. and Legendary to release Dune 3, which ruled out play for Avengers: Doomsday on his giant screens. “We wish we could have played Avengers, and Disney understands that, and I think Disney’s going to be great with it,” he argued.
Gelfond added that, absent Imax screens for Avengers: Doomsday, Disney branding PLF screens as Infinity Vision was little more than a marketing play. “They created kind of a marketing vehicle called Infinity Vision, which enables them to ‘brand’ their release. It’s important to note there’s no additional screens. It’s just kind of a branding move on their part,” he insisted.
Gelfond also expressed frustration with an Imax stock price that has fallen of late as investors worry about Hollywood tentpoles that underperform, while others break out at the multiplex. “I think people are needlessly worried, but we’re not,” Gelfond added as he expressed confidence in the movie slate coming out of the major studio supplier for the rest of 2026.
