BFI IMAX, officially opened by King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) on 11 June 1999, is set to mark its 25th anniversary as the UK’s largest screen with a summer programme that celebrates the venue’s ten highest-grossing films of all time, including two of the most successful releases in cinematic history – James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of the Water (2022) – plus, five of blockbuster auteur Christopher Nolan’s films, best seen on IMAX screens.
The highest-grossing film in BFI IMAX history, as well as the highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, Avatar played to an average 99% occupancy upon its release in December 2009. Four months earlier, 500 lucky film-lovers were the first in the world to be transported to the planet of Pandora when sixteen minutes of footage was introduced by James Cameron via video on 21 August 2009.
The top ten highest-grossing films of all time at BFI IMAX are:
- AVATAR (James Cameron, 2009)
- OPPENHEIMER (Christopher Nolan, 2023)
- STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (J.J. Abrams, 2015)
- THE DARK KNIGHT (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (Christopher Nolan, 2012)
- DUNE: PART 2 (Denis Villeneuve, 2024)
- DUNKIRK (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
- AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (James Cameron, 2022)
- THE POLAR EXPRESS (Robert Zemeckis, 2004)
- INTERSTELLAR (Christopher Nolan, 2014)
Tickets for the BFI IMAX 25th anniversary programme are on sale now to BFI Patrons, and will be on sale to BFI Members at 12:00 on 21 May and to the general public at 12:00 on 23 May. Tickets are available here.
