IMAX ‘actually went out and made concerted effort’ to add diversity to board of directors: CEO

IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond sits down with Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the state of the movie industry and the Oscar films, movie theater pricing, adding diversity to IMAX's board of directors, and some of his favorite movie moments.

Video Transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

SEANA SMITH: All right, a huge night ahead for Hollywood with the 95th Academy Awards this Sunday. And one of the biggest movies of 2022, "Top Gun Maverick," was shot on IMAX cameras. And IMAX's grossing film of 2022, "Avatar, The Way of Water," is up for four awards. Certainly a huge weekend not only for Hollywood but more specifically for IMAX.

So we want to bring in IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond Yahoo Finance's media reporter Alexandra Canal also joining us here with this conversation. Richard, it's going to be a huge weekend for you, for IMAX. I mentioned "Avatar, The Way of Water," "Top Gun Maverick," two films that were shown in IMAX theaters, are up for a number of awards. What do you make of this shift that it seems that we are seeing, more of those blockbuster films getting nominated this year? And what does that signal for Hollywood?

RICHARD GELFOND: Well, I think it's a really good thing that it's happening. I think over the last few years, obviously accelerated by the pandemic-- but I think Hollywood a little bit lost its way with the Oscars. And I think it was a little too much inside baseball. And it was a little too much streaming movies.

And guess what, the public likes going to theaters. And movies exist in theaters. When I was more hostile about this years ago, I've calmed down, I said, a lot of these things that were nominated for Oscars were like the old movie of the week kind of thing.

But I think this year's movies are a lot more like old fashioned movies, big special effects, big stars, big cultural events, global events in the world. And I think if the Oscars want to remain relevant, they needed to move back to that direction. I think it's great they're doing it.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: And if you think about the state of Hollywood right now, "Top Gun Maverick," "Creed III" just released this weekend, gangbuster opener. They were both shot on IMAX cameras. "Avatar" has done so well. But all of these movies, they are franchise movies, right? They're these action-packed equals.

Clearly, that's been great for your business. But do you think that's a sustainable strategy moving forward across the theatrical ecosystem?

RICHARD GELFOND: Well, before I answer that question, I would say, I don't think these were traditional kinds of sequels, because remember, "Top Gun" was 37 years ago. So almost no one was born who saw it again. And even "Avatar" was 13 years ago. So I think those don't really count for sequels.

I think other things, other kinds of movies count. And I do think it's partly sustainable. I think you need new IP and fresh content and fresh stars to really create longevity in the business. But I think there's definitely an appetite.

I think Hollywood has sometimes gone too far. I used to joke and say if a tornado movie worked, they'd say green light another two tornado movies. And then when the third one didn't work, they'd say fire the idiot who greenlit the tornado movie.

So I think within reason, and as long as they're novel, they're good things. But I think the trend was kind of overdone. I agree with you on that point.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yeah, and if you think about earlier this year, "M3GAN," for example, that was a breakout one that people didn't expect. But folks are still going to the movies. But let's talk about the overall moviegoing experience because it is expensive. We crunched the numbers here.

Let's say we wanted to see "Creed III" tonight in an IMAX location at AMC in New York City. Two people would shell out around 83 bucks for two tickets, a large popcorn, and two regular soft drinks. So how do you really convince consumers that this premium experience is worth that price when I could buy some IMAX-enhanced technology, put it in my home, have a nice little setup on my couch? What's your argument there?

RICHARD GELFOND: Well, my argument is, compared to other forms of entertainment, it's still relatively cheap. If I asked you to crunch the numbers about going to the Yankee game and having two beers and some popcorn there or going to the Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden or going to a big event in New York, going to a Broadway play, right, that's now $150-$200 a ticket. It's still a bargain compared to other forms of entertainment.

And the difference in going to IMAX is it takes you to another place. If you go to Yankee Stadium, you're seeing the Yankees. It's 162 games. You've seen baseball before. But when you see "Avatar," are you going to another world. Or you see "Top Gun," you're flying in those F-18s with Tom Cruise. And also the laughing.

I just went to the "Creed" premiere in LA. And I don't want to-- no spoiler alerts. But in the fight at the end, I mean, people are screaming. You're really into it. I think it's more immersive than a lot of things.

By the way, you don't have to buy the popcorn. It's a little fattening.

SEANA SMITH: That's true.

RICHARD GELFOND: You could save the money.

SEANA SMITH: There you go, New Year's resolution, skip the popcorn at the theaters. Richard, real quick before we move on here, sticking with pricing, that new pricing tier that AMC rolled out, paying more for specific seats. Just in terms of-- how do you view that as an insider within the industry? Could it potentially have a downside risk to that?

RICHARD GELFOND: Yeah, it can. And it's been done before. In Europe, people have done it. I don't generally like it because I think it's like saying one seat's better than the other seat. And I think it's tough to enforce. And I don't think you make enough money to create the complexity.

And suppose I bought a cheap seat, and I moved to another one. What are we going to do, get in a fight in the middle of the theater? I just-- I'm not a big believer in the plan. So I kind of agree with you.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Richard, I want to switch gears to a big announcement at your company. IMAX has named two female board members, "Elvis" producer Gail Berman, Reddit COO Jen Wong. This is a big deal at a time when we don't see a lot of female representation on boards. And before this, you only had one female board member, Dana Settle, out of eight. Why make this decision now? And how do you think it's going to drive your business moving forward?

RICHARD GELFOND: I think we've done a really good job of diversifying our company and our management. I think we've done a less good job at diversifying our board. So we actually went out, and we made a concerted effort to say, we want more diverse candidates. But instead of finding one, we found two. So we said, why not?

So Gail is-- she used to be president of Paramount. As you said, she did "Elvis." She's involved in "Wednesday" now. So I think she could bring a lot of expertise to our Hollywood slate and the constituency that we operate with.

And Jen is very senior at a technology company with a great background. And I think social media, Reddit, and I think we thought we could use that expertise. So it wasn't only that we found candidates of diversity. We found two really good ones. And we thought they could help our company.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Do you think this is an issue within the entertainment industry at large, this lack of female members on boards?

RICHARD GELFOND: I'm not familiar enough with what other people do. But it was an issue with us, and we fixed it.

SEANA SMITH: And certainly a very important step to take. And I know a lot of people commend you guys with that. Well, Richard, while we have and we have you in studio, we thought it would be fun to play a little game.

Now, in honor of the Oscars coming up this weekend, we're going to have you give out Richard's awards. So we'll go through a couple of different scenarios and get whatever your opinion is on some of these movie-themed questions. You can, I guess diversity, your honor, your pick of some of your favorites.

Let's kick it off here with your favorite movie of all time, a tough question.

RICHARD GELFOND: Of all time? "Chariots of Fire."

SEANA SMITH: OK.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: That was really quick, Richard.

SEANA SMITH: That was very quick.

RICHARD GELFOND: It's easy because I love the movie.

[LAUGHTER]

ALEXANDRA CANAL: All right, the movie you're most anticipating this year.

RICHARD GELFOND: This coming year? "Oppenheimer." I think it's going to be amazing. And Chris Nolan filmed it with IMAX cameras. And part of it was in the trailer, part of the test before the Manhattan Project, it looks incredible.

SEANA SMITH: Wow. And when does that come out?

RICHARD GELFOND: July, late July.

SEANA SMITH: OK, so a couple of months away from that. All right, so that's movies. What about TV shows? What's your favorite?

RICHARD GELFOND: "Succession," it reminds me too much of Wall Street, but I like it.

SEANA SMITH: Well, our very own Dave Briggs makes an appearance in "Succession." He's one of the anchors in the show this season. So you've got to check it out.

RICHARD GELFOND: I've got to see that one.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: All right, well, let's move on to concession snacks. You said you didn't need to get the popcorn. What's your favorite concession snack?

RICHARD GELFOND: Popcorn.

[LAUGHTER]

ALEXANDRA CANAL: There you go.

SEANA SMITH: There you go. You've got to get the popcorn, the soda. Movies would not be the same.

RICHARD GELFOND: I like the Twizzlers. My wife loves the Twizzlers.

SEANA SMITH: Twizzlers, that's good too. Yeah, you've got to get something sweet too. OK, most iconic song choice in a movie?

RICHARD GELFOND: Most iconic song choice, that's a tough one. I'm thinking of "Apocalypse Now." I don't remember. I think it was the Stones. I'm not positive. Maybe it was "Paint it Black." but I love the way that played. Oh, and another one is in "Live and Let Die," in the Bond song, Paul McCartney.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: "Armageddon" is the one I'm thinking of. What's the song? (SINGING) Forever-- I want to hold--

SEANA SMITH: That is it, yeah.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Anyway, no one wants to hear me sing.

- Aerosmith!

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Aerosmith, yeah! We have Dave chirping in the background here. OK, this is an interesting one. Nicole Kidman AMC Commercial, this went viral for a lot of reasons, iconic or forgettable?

RICHARD GELFOND: I'll get killed by my partner AMC, but forgettable.

SEANA SMITH: Oh, OK. This is one I think is a no-brainer. Feet on the seat in front of you at the theater, feet on the ground? You've got to put the feet on the ground.

RICHARD GELFOND: Feet on the ground, completely agree with you.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah.

RICHARD GELFOND: Reach for the stars, and keep your feet on the ground. There it is.

SEANA SMITH: That's a good one.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: This is related, to recline or not recline?

RICHARD GELFOND: Definitely not recline.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Wow!

RICHARD GELFOND: IMAX was not built for recliners. IMAX was built for people who love movies. And when you're lying on your back and you're kind of looking-- and by the way, the kid next to you is moving the seat upside, up and down, that's not the way to watch a movie.

SEANA SMITH: That's probably my kid in the theater. All right, two or 3D?

RICHARD GELFOND: Depends on the movie but mostly 2D. I think certain kinds of movies, like "Avatar," obviously were made for 3D. But most movies were made for 2D.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: OK, interesting. And your final question, your favorite dance scene in a movie?

RICHARD GELFOND: "Dirty Dancing."

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Got to be that.

RICHARD GELFOND: It's easy, come on. There's no other choice.

SEANA SMITH: OK. Mine was "Grease," the

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Oh, that's a good one.

SEANA SMITH: --final scene at the end.

RICHARD GELFOND: Can I tell you something? When we opened our theater in Sydney, Olivia Newton-John was there to open it. And I actually got to dance some of those songs.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: Did you really?

RICHARD GELFOND: It was a life-memorable moment.

SEANA SMITH: Do you have video of it? I'd love to see it.

RICHARD GELFOND: I don't think they'll let me.

SEANA SMITH: You've got to show that next time.

ALEXANDRA CANAL: We'll go to in archives for that.

[LAUGHTER]

SEANA SMITH: All right, Richard Gelfond, CEO of IMAX, thanks so much for joining us here in studio.

RICHARD GELFOND: Thank you, guys. Thanks so much.