XML 24 R8.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.21.1
Basis of Presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation

1.  Basis of Presentation

Accounting Principles

IMAX Corporation, together with its consolidated subsidiaries (the “Company”), prepares its financial statements in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted from this report, as is permitted by such rules and regulations. In the Company’s opinion, the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all adjustments of a normal recurring nature that are necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. The interim results presented in the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year, particularly in this interim period due to the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic (see Note 2).

These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “2020 Form 10-K”), which should be consulted for a summary of the significant accounting policies utilized by the Company. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared following the same accounting policies disclosed in the 2020 Form 10-K.

Principles of Consolidation

These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company together with its consolidated subsidiaries, except for subsidiaries which have been identified as variable interest entities (“VIEs”) where the Company is not the primary beneficiary. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The Company has evaluated its various variable interests to determine whether they are VIEs as required by U.S. GAAP.

The Company has interests in ten film production companies, which have been identified as VIEs. The Company is the primary beneficiary of and consolidates five of these entities as it has the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE, and it has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the respective VIE that could potentially be significant. The majority of the assets relating to these production companies are held by the IMAX Original Film Fund (the “Original Film Fund”) as described in Note 17(b). The Company does not consolidate the other five film production companies because it does not have the power to direct their activities and it does not have the obligation to absorb the majority of the expected losses or the right to receive expected residual returns. The Company uses the equity method of accounting for these entities, which are not material to the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Total assets and liabilities of the Company’s consolidated VIEs are as follows:

 

 

 

March 31,

 

 

December 31,

 

(In thousands of U.S. Dollars)

 

2021

 

 

2020

 

Total assets

 

$

1,558

 

 

$

1,543

 

Total liabilities

 

$

258

 

 

$

230

 

 

In March 2021, the Company and Maximus Technologies Limited (“Maximus”), a next-generation visual effects company, established a joint venture, IMAX AI, to deliver A.I.-based solutions for Ultra High Definition (UHD) 4K enhancement across smart devices, new and library content, and real-time enhancement of live entertainment and sports. IMAX and Maximus each own 50% of IMAX AI. In connection with the formation of the joint venture, IMAX and Maximus are each contributing $250,000 in cash, as well as certain intellectual property assets. The intellectual property assets contributed by the Company had a nominal carrying value. The Company is using the equity method to account for this investment as IMAX AI is jointly controlled.  

Estimates and Assumptions

In preparing the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, management makes judgments in applying various accounting policies. The areas of policy judgment are consistent with those reported in Note 3(b) in the 2020 Form 10-K. In addition, management makes assumptions about the Company’s future operating results and cash flows in deriving critical accounting estimates used in preparing the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The significant estimates made by management include, but are not limited to: (i) the allocation of the transaction price in an IMAX Theater System arrangement to distinct performance obligations; (ii) estimates of variable consideration related to future box office performance; (iii) expected credit losses on accounts receivable, financing receivables and variable consideration receivables; (iv) provisions for the write-down of excess and obsolete inventory; (v) the fair values of the reporting units used in assessing the recoverability of goodwill; (vi) the cash flow estimates used in testing the recoverability of long-lived assets such as the theater system equipment supporting joint revenue sharing arrangements; (vii) the economic lives of the theater system equipment supporting joint revenue sharing arrangements; (viii) the useful lives of intangible assets; (ix) the ultimate revenue forecasts used to test the recoverability of film assets; (x) the discount rates used to determine the present value of lease liabilities; (xi) pension plan assumptions; (xii) estimates related to the fair value and projected vesting of share-based payment awards; (xiii) the valuation of deferred income tax assets; and (xiv) reserves related to uncertain tax positions.

The Company’s operations have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic, as described in Note 2. There is significant ongoing uncertainty surrounding the extent and duration of the impacts that the pandemic will continue to have on box office results and the installation of IMAX Theater Systems, as well as the Company’s customers, suppliers, and employees. There is heightened potential for future credit losses on receivables, inventory write downs, impairments of film assets, impairments of long-lived assets (including the theater system equipment supporting the Company’s joint revenue sharing arrangements), impairments of goodwill, a further valuation allowance against deferred tax assets, and the reversal of variable consideration receivables that are based on estimates of future box office performance. In the current environment, assumptions about box office results, IMAX Theater System installations, and customer creditworthiness have greater variability than normal, which could in the future significantly affect the valuation of the Company’s financial and non-financial assets. The cash flow estimates used to test the recoverability of certain of the Company’s long-lived assets are based on a longer time horizon due to the long-term nature of the underlying contracts, allowing time for a recovery of the cash flows associated with the underlying asset groups, which management has factored into its estimates. The accuracy of management’s estimates is dependent, in part, on the timing and extent of the reopening of theaters in the IMAX network, and on the release of new films by movie studios. These theater reopening and film release scenarios are highly uncertain and have been factored into management’s cash flow estimates. As an understanding of the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on the Company’s customers and business develops, there is a heightened potential for changes in management’s estimates over the remainder of 2021.