This morning Imax corporation has decided to furloughed 150 employees amid the pandemic-fueled drought of the film industry by the delays of studio films.
Amid the domestic box office’s struggle to rebound during the pandemic, the large-screen format producer will put the furloughs into effect on Oct. 26 for at least two months. U.S. and Canada’s employees will primarily be affected by this news with several employees in Europe.
The company cited the lack of new studio film releases and the ongoing economic impact of COVID-19 as causes.
“The move will enable the company to temporarily retrench, conserve resources and adjust its operations to reflect the lack of Hollywood releases in 2020 and the resulting closures of exhibitors in key markets. The furloughs will not impact Imax operations in China and Japan, where local language films remain on the slate and theatres are fully open,” an Imax spokesperson told Variety in a statement.
Since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and its disappointing domestic rollout, new studio film releases have delayed their films. It has plunged the film industry into chaos, and a domino effect was born that forced date changes for notable films, like the newly delayed releases of the James Bond film No Time To Die and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune.
In July, Imax reported a $26 million second-quarter loss or 44 cents a share on revenues of $8.9 million.