Imax had its best October ever thanks to 'Dune' and the China box office. Here's what its CEO thinks the future holds for movies.

• Imax had its best October ever at the global box office, beating the previous record holder in 2013.
• It was thanks to "Dune," "No Time to Die," and the Chinese film "The Battle at Lake Changjin."

The Imax Corporation, the film technology company that specializes in high-quality cameras and projection systems, just had its best October ever, even as movie theaters in the US are still recovering from the pandemic.

The release of "Dune" in the US and China on October 22 pushed the global box office at Imax theaters past the previous October record of $83 million in 2013. Imax accounted for 22.5% of the $40 million domestic opening of "Dune," which was filmed with Imax cameras.

The James Bond movie "No Time to Die" and the Chinese war film "The Battle at Lake Changjin," which is currently the highest-grossing movie in the world, also helped.

"There seems to be an increase in demand from audiences to see movies in the Imax format," CEO Richard Gelfond told Insider during an interview this week.

Gelfond said the pandemic had "accelerated the drive towards blockbuster movies in theaters and the appetite" to see them in Imax. If a movie wasn't a big-budget franchise tentpole or a horror film, it has stumbled at the box office this year.

"I think the less expensive movies will go straight to streaming," Gelfond said. "There will be more of the kinds of movies that people want to see in Imax."

"Dune" was released simultaneously in theaters and on WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max. While it performed well in Imax, its overall box office - which will likely top out between $300 million and $400 million worldwide - has been sluggish for a film that cost $165 million to produce.

Warner Bros. has found some success with simultaneous releases this year, including "Godzilla vs. Kong." But Gelfond thinks the strategy negatively impacts a movie's box-office potential.

"I don't think you can judge 'Dune' on the same standards as movies with exclusive theatrical windows," he said.

But exclusive windows won't be enough for traditional movie theaters to thrive in a post-pandemic world. Gelfond said that theaters will have to be "more nimble and creative in programming." That means playing nice with streamers like Netflix, he said, which theater chains have resisted in recent years due to the streaming giant's windowing demands.

Gelfond said it also means providing a "quality experience in every way," which could lead to "more copy cats that try to imitate" Imax.

"But we've developed relationships in the industry," he said. "Denis Villeneuve [the 'Dune' director] wanted to film with Imax cameras. The image quality is superior to any other. Another league can pretend to be the NFL, but it's not the NFL."

Imax and China

China's box office, now the largest in the world, has recovered far faster than the US's.

It's Imax's biggest market, with 750 Imax theaters in the region and more to come. Gelfond said that there are 250 signed deals and that the market could support as many as 1,300 Imax theaters.

"Our brand grew up with the Chinese film industry to a certain extent," Gelfond said.

Local Chinese productions have supercharged the China box office during the pandemic. It's been beneficial for Imax, which embraced more Chinese-language films in recent years. The aforementioned "Battle at Lake Changjin," which has grossed $859 million in the region, was filmed with Imax cameras.

China's dominance has largely been at the expense of Hollywood, though. No Marvel movies have been approved for release by the Chinese government this year. Experts have told Insider that China may approve fewer Hollywood releases in the future, and those that are approved may face tighter regulations.

But Gelfond is bullish about Hollywood's comeback.

"The jury is still out in my mind what is the biggest film market until we get back to a normal theatrical release pattern," he said.