public traded as nyse imax industry motion picture production and exhibition predecessor multi screen corporation imax systems corporation founded 1968 in montreal quebec canada founders graeme ferguson roman kroitor robert kerr william shaw headquarters mississauga ontario canada area served worldwide key people bradley wechsler chairman richard gelfond ceo products special venue films and movie theatres revenue us 289.54 million fy 2012 1 profit us 41.3 million fy 2012 1 total assets us 421 million fy 2012 1 total equity us 253 million fy 2012 1 number of employees 526 1 divisions imax imax dome imax dmr subsidiaries ridefilm corporation sonics associates david keighley productions 2 website www.imax.com the imax corporation is a canadian 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 . 3 founded in 1968 it has operations in toronto as well as new york city and los angeles . as of june 2016 the imax theater network consisted of 1 102 theatres in 69 countries . 4 these include imax variations such as imax 3d imax dome and digital imax . contents 1 history 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit imax is a canadian corporation that is based in toronto and mississauga ontario . the company was officially 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 the work that ferguson kroitor and kerr had done producing the multi screen national film board of canada production in the labyrinth and ferguson s man and the polar regions for expo 67 . 5 6 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 7 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 exceptionable quality and to be ten times larger than conventional 35mm picture frames . 8 the first movie imax corporation produced using this new technology was tiger child which was featured at expo 70 in osaka japan . 8 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 . 6 shaw remained at imax although officially retired as a designer and inventor until his passing on august 31 2002 at the age of 73 . 8 before retiring shaw created a 3d camera which was sent to the international space station for imax films . 8 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 . 9 it was a critical point when imax corporation sought to expand in 1994 by publicly listing imax on the nasdaq stock exchange and it became apparent then the future of the company rest in their ability to attract hollywood production houses . 6 to do this required flexible technology able to adapt quickly in various locations . bonnick and his group created imax dmr digital re mastering which allowed for these requirements and paved the way for the large hollywood blockbuster movies that would soon result . imax corporation has gone on to expand with various new technologies including the imax experience and the imax mpx theatre system and have also revamped imax 2d footage into imax 3d . 9 the success of imax has made it possible for imax corporation to sign deals with countries around the world . in 2009 imax corporation signed a deal with china building the first ever imax theatre in tianjin china . 10 the theatre was set to open in 2012 . in march 2011 imax noted that china s wanda cinema line announced a 75 theatre deal with imax corporation . this was one of the largest international deals to the date of 2011 for imax and one of the second largest in company history . 11 while imax corporation has expanded profoundly throughout the decades it still sees itself as a leader in entertainment hollywood insiders that partner with movie makers technology innovative patented technology distribution global with 689 theaters in 52 countries as of 30 09 2012 12 the company motto is imax is believing highlighting the original founder s philosophies of creating a real life like experience for the audience . in 2011 imax discovery communications and sony announced to launch a 3d television channel ; the companies later announced the upcoming channel would be named 3dnet the channel was later planned to be named 3net . in august 2014 3net closed down due to low ratings . on october 8 2015 imax china a subsidiary of the company was listed on the hong kong stock exchange . 13 see also edit 3net references edit a b c d e http yahoo.brand.edgar online.com displayfilinginfo.aspx filingid 9106614 852 703627 & type sect & dcn 0001193125 13 069594 imax corporation company history . fundinguniverse.com . retrieved 2012 02 24 . history of imax . funding universe . 2011 09 03 . retrieved 2013 04 02 . imax corporation july 20 2016 . imax corporation reports second quarter 2016 financial results press release . prnewswire . retrieved august 9 2016 . aitken ian october 27 2005 . nfb s labyrinth . encyclopedia of the documentary film . routledge . pp. 168 9 . isbn 978 157958445 0 . a b c anonymous spring 1993 . oscar nominated canadian company on the leading edge . performing arts & entertainment in canada . retrieved 3 april 2013 . tillson tamsen september 15 2002 . obituaries shaw thought big imax . variety . retrieved 3 april 2013 . a b c d anonymous september 10 2002 . his talents made imax possible . national post . retrieved 3 april 2013 . a b anonymous september 24 2007 . imax corporation . the globe and mail . retrieved 3 april 2013 . anonymous may 5 2009 . imax corporation ; imax signs theatre deal in china . china weekly news . retrieved 3 april 2013 . imax . imax corporation . retrieved 3 april 2013 . imax . imax corporation . retrieved 3 april 2013 . brzeski patrick february 24 2016 . imax china to install 100 new screens in 2016 bullish on growth . the hollywood reporter . retrieved february 25 2016 . external links edit official website v t e imax imax corporation imax film format lists films dmr films venues rides other imax ventures 3net imax magic carpet sandde filmmakers sean casey graeme ferguson ron fricke roman kroitor alec lorimore colin low stephen low greg macgillivray producers 3d entertainment macgillivray freeman films related topics 70 mm film cyberworld in the labyrinth v t e film studios in the united states and canada majors 20th century fox columbia pictures paramount pictures universal pictures walt disney studios warner bros. mini majors amblin entertainment cbs films lionsgate metro goldwyn mayer open road films relativity media the weinstein company independents 3d entertainment a24 alcon entertainment anchor bay films drafthouse films entertainment one films freestyle releasing hasbro studios icon productions image entertainment imagine entertainment imax pictures kennedy marshall company lakeshore entertainment magnolia pictures mandalay pictures marvista entertainment miramax montecito picture company morgan creek productions picturehouse regency enterprises revolution studios rko pictures roadside attractions samuel goldwyn films stx entertainment walden media wwe studios independent financiers annapurna pictures cross creek pictures lstar capital media rights capital new regency productions participant media ratpac entertainment red granite pictures skydance tsg entertainment worldview entertainment producer owned independents 1492 pictures american zoetrope bad hat harry productions bad robot productions blinding edge pictures blumhouse productions bryanston pictures centropolis entertainment crystal sky pictures di bonaventura pictures flower films fuzzy door productions happy madison productions jim henson pictures imagemovers lightstorm entertainment legendary entertainment platinum dunes silver pictures portal film retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title imax corporation & oldid 742158984 categories imaxcompanies established in 1968movie theatre chains in the united statescompanies listed on the new york stock exchange3d imagingfilm distributors of canadafilm distributors of the united statescompanies formerly listed on the toronto stock 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