Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements - Additional Information (Details)		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jun. 10, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020 CNY (¥)	Jul. 24, 2020 USD ($)	Jul. 24, 2020 CNY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 CNY (¥)	Oct. 28, 2019 USD ($)
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Current borrowing capacity		$ 300,000,000.0		$ 300,000,000.0
Credit Facility Description				The Company has a credit agreement, the Fifth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”), as agent, and a syndicate of lenders party thereto (the “Credit Agreement”). The Company’s obligations under the Credit Agreement are guaranteed by certain of its subsidiaries (the “Guarantors”) and are secured by first-priority security interests in substantially all the assets of the Company and the Guarantors. The facility provided by the Credit Agreement (the “Credit Facility”) matures on June 28, 2023. The Credit Agreement has a revolving borrowing capacity of $300.0 million, and contains an uncommitted accordion feature allowing the Company to further expand its borrowing capacity to $440.0 million or greater, subject to certain conditions, depending on the mix of revolving and term loans comprising the incremental facility. In the first quarter of 2020, in response to uncertainties associated with the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic and its impact on the Company’s business, the Company drew down the $280.0 million in available borrowing capacity under the Credit Facility, resulting in total outstanding borrowings of $300.0 million.
Credit Facility Maturity Date				Jun. 28, 2023
Line of credit facility covenant terms				The Credit Agreement contains a covenant that requires the Company to maintain a Senior Secured Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement), as at the last day of any Fiscal Quarter (as defined in the Credit Agreement) of no greater than 3.25:1.00.
Effective interest rate		2.70%	3.34%	2.24%	3.50%
Amounts Drawn		$ 253,000		$ 253,000
Working Capital Facility [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Current borrowing capacity							$ 30,000,000.0	¥ 200,000,000.0
Credit Facility Description				On July 24, 2020, IMAX (Shanghai) Multimedia Technology Co., Ltd. (“IMAX Shanghai”), one of the Company’s majority-owned subsidiaries in China, renewed its unsecured revolving facility for up to 200.0 million Renminbi (approximately $30.0 million) to fund ongoing working capital requirements (the “Working Capital Facility”).
Effective interest rate		4.35%		4.35%
Amounts Drawn		$ 300,000		$ 300,000		¥ 1,700,000			$ 0
Remaining borrowing capacity		29,700,000		29,700,000		¥ 198,300,000			29,700,000	¥ 198,300,000
Credit Facility [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Amount drew down in available borrowing capacity				$ 280,000,000.0
Line of credit facility covenant terms				On June 10, 2020, the Company entered into the First Amendment to the Credit Agreement (the “Amendment”), which, among other things, (i) suspends the Senior Secured Net Leverage Ratio covenant through the first quarter of 2021, (ii) re-establishes the Senior Secured Net Leverage Ratio covenant thereafter, provided that for subsequent quarters that such covenant is tested, as applicable, the Company will be permitted to use its quarterly EBITDA (as defined in the Credit Agreement) from the third and fourth quarters of 2019 in lieu of the EBITDA for the corresponding quarters of 2020, (iii) adds a $75.0 million minimum liquidity covenant measured at the end of each calendar month and (iv) restricts the Company’s ability to make certain restricted payments, dispositions and investments, create or assume liens and incur debt that would otherwise have been permitted by the Credit Agreement. The modifications to the negative covenants, the minimum liquidity covenant and modifications to certain other provisions in the Credit Agreement pursuant to the Amendment were effective from the date of the Amendment until the earlier of the delivery of the compliance certificate for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the date on which the Company, in its sole discretion, elects to calculate its compliance with the Senior Secured Net Leverage Ratio by using either its actual EBITDA or annualized EBITDA (the “Designated Period”).
Compliance with covenants				The Company was in compliance with all of its requirements under the Credit Agreement, as amended, as at September 30, 2020, and based on current projections expects to be in compliance through the next twelve months.
Liquidity covenant minimum				$ 75,000,000.0
Interest rate description				Borrowings under the Credit Facility bear interest, at the Company’s option, at (i) LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 1.00% to 1.75% per annum; or (ii) the U.S. base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.25% to 1.00% per annum, in each case depending on the Company’s Total Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement); provided, however, that from the effective date of the Amendment until the Company delivers a compliance certificate under the Credit Facility following the end of the Designated Period, the applicable margin for LIBOR borrowings will be 2.50% per annum and the applicable margin for U.S. base rate borrowings will be 1.75% per annum. The effective interest rate for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 was 2.70% and 2.24%, respectively (2019 — 3.34% and 3.50%, respectively).
Standby fees percentage	0.50%
Fees incurred with amendment				$ 1,100,000
Letters of credit or advance payment guarantees		0		0					0
Credit Facility [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate margin percentage	2.50%
Credit Facility [Member] | Base Rate [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate margin percentage	1.75%
Wells Fargo Foreign Exchange Facility [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Settlement gain (loss) on its foreign currency forward contracts		500,000		500,000					500,000
Notional Amount of arrangements entered into		40,200,000		40,200,000					36,100,000
NBC Facility [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Current borrowing capacity											$ 5,000,000.0
Remaining borrowing capacity		0		0					$ 0
Minimum [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Borrowing capacity under uncommitted accordion feature		$ 440,000,000.0		$ 440,000,000.0
Minimum [Member] | Credit Facility [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Standby fees percentage				0.25%
Minimum [Member] | Credit Facility [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate margin percentage				1.00%
Minimum [Member] | Credit Facility [Member] | Base Rate [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate margin percentage				0.25%
Maximum [Member] | Credit Facility [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Debt instrument net leverage ratio				3.25
Standby fees percentage				0.38%
Maximum [Member] | Credit Facility [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate margin percentage				1.75%
Maximum [Member] | Credit Facility [Member] | Base Rate [Member]
Credit Facility and Other Financing Arrangements (Textual) [Abstract]
Interest rate margin percentage				1.00%