🎥 IMAX reels in the big bucks

For as long as I can remember, the fourth meal has been Taco Bell. Specifically, a Crunchwrap Supreme at 2:15am after closing down a karaoke bar.

But now, there’s a new fourth meal designed to give you a peaceful night’s sleep at a reasonable hour.

Bedtime snacks

The global sleep aids market was valued at $67.5B in 2022, per Polaris Market Research. Meanwhile, interest in “functional” beverages and snacks, with special ingredients for things like focus, energy, and relaxation, has also taken off in recent years.

Thus, it’s not surprising that there’s an emerging market of sleep treats, per Food Dive.

Examples include:

• Nightfood, which makes cookies and ice cream
• Nestle’s Goodnight chocolates
• Post’s Sweet Dreams cereal

Nightfood’s products are designed for people who already indulge before bed — containing less sugar, fewer calories, and sleep ingredients like tryptophan, which our bodies use to produce melatonin.

Post’s cereal contains lavender, chamomile, and vitamins that support melatonin production.

But do they work?

We’re certain they’re more fun to nosh on than melatonin gummies, and more satisfying than downing a couple valerian capsules. But can they replace them?

It’s long been said you shouldn’t eat before bed, but recent studies suggest that while a large meal hurts, a light snack could help. That’s especially true if it’s rich in nutrients, low in calories, and includes sleep-inducing ingredients — like tryptophan.

It may be a while before we get studies on these specific products, but they’re probably better for you than chowing down on a Crunchwrap Supreme before passing out…

… Though we can’t guarantee we won’t do that again.

The real “mission impossible” is getting Mission: Impossible onto bigger screens.

The situation: Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One opens July 12. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer blasts into theaters July 21.

Oppenheimer has an agreement to play on every IMAX screen in North America for three weeks upon release — meaning the Cruise camp only has IMAX screens for about a week, which will likely impact the movie’s bottom line.

The big picture

In case it wasn’t clear, IMAX screens reel in eye-poppin’ profits. Per Variety, Sony’s latest Spider-Man film earned an average of $34.2k per IMAX screen throughout its opening weekend, versus $19.7k on standard screens.

• Last year, Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick earned $100m+ from IMAX alone.

While movie attendance is still down 33% from 2019, per Variety, demand for IMAX-style moviegoing is booming. Globally, IMAX accounted for ~1% of screens showing Avatar: The Way of Water, but generated 11.3%, or $250m, of the film’s box office sales.

Though IMAX saw revenues plunge throughout the pandemic, the company projects ~$1.1B in global box office sales this year, returning to 2019 levels.

Rewinding the tape: IMAX has come a long way since 1994, when current CEO Richard Gelfond took over. For an interesting look into how the company swapped business models and cut costs, check out Gelfond’s take here.