IMAX stock fell 9.5% in four minutes on a report Disney pitched rival studios on Infinity Vision, then recovered, October 8, 2026

IMAX shares fell 9.51% in four minutes on Thursday, October 8, 2026, after Bloomberg reported that Disney had pitched Paramount, Universal and other studios on releasing their films under Infinity Vision, its own large-screen label, and by the close the stock had made almost all of it back. IMAX was at $53.31 at the start of the 14:17 ET minute, fell to $48.24 by 14:21 ET and finished at $51.35, down 0.19% on the day. The first version of the story reached the MoveSurge news feed at 14:18:51 ET.

According to Bloomberg, Disney has held early talks with Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Infinity Vision certifies auditoriums that have a screen at least 50 feet wide, laser projection and Dolby 7.1 sound, so it can bring formats that cinema chains already run, such as AMC's XL and Cinemark's XD, under one name, and about 5,500 screens around the world qualify. The other studios want to see how the label works for Avengers: Doomsday, which opens on December 18, the same weekend as Dune: Part Three, the film that holds IMAX's screens that weekend.

How IMAX stock traded through the report

IMAX was 3.62% above Wednesday's close when the story broke, so the low of $48.24 left it 6.24% below that close. The table measures each reading against $53.31, the price at the start of the 14:17 minute.

The candlestick chart measures from $51.52, the last close before the headline reached the MoveSurge news feed, so its readings of -2.92% after one minute and -1.58% after fifteen begin after the first leg of the drop. Disney's own shares closed up 2.21% at $107.06.

What Infinity Vision competes with

IMAX had 1,809 systems open at June 30, 2026, with 421 more in its backlog, so the screens that qualify for Infinity Vision outnumber its network about three to one. The two counts measure different things. Disney does not install anything: the label sits on auditoriums the chains have already built, which makes it cheap to scale, while IMAX sells or leases its own projection systems and remasters films for them. What a studio group would take from IMAX is the commitment of the biggest releases to its screens on opening weekend, the slot Disney lost for Avengers: Doomsday.

Wedbush said IMAX faces no immediate threat. Its analysts pointed out that nearly all of Disney's 2027 films are already booked on IMAX screens, that Universal has a successful partnership with IMAX, that a joint studio format would need regulators to accept it does not favour its members' films, and that copying IMAX's cameras, remastering and distribution would take years. The report also lands on a company that has been looking at its options: the Wall Street Journal reported in May that IMAX was exploring a sale, and CNBC reported on August 28 that it had not attracted a buyer despite its box-office run.