IMAX technology premiered at the Fuji Pavilion, EXPO '70 in Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX projection system was installed at Ontario Place's Cinesphere in Toronto in 1971. IMAX Dome (OMNIMAX) debuted at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theatre in San Diego in 1973.

In March of 1994, the sale of IMAX by the original partners was finalized to Brad Wechsler, Rich Gelfond, and Wasserstein Perella Partners. In June 1994, IMAX was taken public on the Nasdaq stock exchange providing IMAX with the capitalization necessary to take advantage of numerous growth opportunities.