How are IMAX butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?

Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the IMAX butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.50%), the computed maximum profit is $111.97 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$85.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.

What is the breakeven for a IMAX butterfly?

The breakeven for the IMAX butterfly priced on this page is roughly $32.85 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current IMAX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.75%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.

How does current IMAX implied volatility affect this butterfly?

IMAX ATM IV is at 37.50% with IV rank near 45.63%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.

IMAX Butterfly Strategy

IMAX (IMAX Corporation), in the Communication Services sector, (Entertainment industry), listed on NYSE.

IMAX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment technology company worldwide. It offers cinematic solution through proprietary software, theater architecture, intellectual property, and specialized equipment. The company offers IMAX Digital Re-Mastering (DMR), a proprietary technology that digitally enhances the image resolution, visual clarity, and sound quality of motion picture films for projection on IMAX screens; IMAX theater systems to exhibitor customers through sales, leases, and joint revenue sharing arrangements; and digital projection systems. It also provides preventative and emergency maintenance services to IMAX network; distributes large-format documentary films; film post-production and quality control services for large-format films, and digital post-production services; owns and operates IMAX theaters; and rents 2D and 3D large-format film and digital cameras, as well as offers production advice and technical assistance services to documentary and Hollywood filmmakers. The company markets its theater systems through a direct sales force and marketing staff to science and natural history museums, zoos, aquaria, and other educational and cultural centers, as well as theme parks, private home theaters, tourist destination sites, fairs, and expositions. It owns or otherwise has rights to trademarks and trade names, which include IMAX, IMAX Dome, IMAX 3D, IMAX 3D Dome, Experience It in IMAX, The IMAX Experience, An IMAX Experience, An IMAX 3D Experience, IMAX DMR, DMR, IMAX Enhanced, IMAX nXos, and Films To The Fullest.

IMAX (IMAX Corporation) trades in the Communication Services sector, specifically Entertainment, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.85B, a trailing P/E of 49.73, a beta of 0.36 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 24.2-43.16, average daily share volume of 1.1M, a public-listing history dating back to 1994, approximately 700 full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how IMAX stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.

A beta of 0.36 indicates IMAX has historically moved less than the broader market, dampening realized volatility and producing tighter expected-move bands per unit of dollar exposure. The trailing P/E of 49.73 is on the rich side, which tends to correlate with higher earnings-window IV expansion as the market debates whether forward growth supports the multiple.

What is a butterfly on IMAX?

A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.

Current IMAX snapshot

As of May 15, 2026, spot at $33.52, ATM IV 37.50%, IV rank 45.63%, expected move 10.75%. The butterfly on IMAX below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 34-day expiry.

Why this butterfly structure on IMAX specifically: IMAX IV at 37.50% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 10.75% (roughly $3.60 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated IMAX expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on IMAX should anchor to the underlying notional of $33.52 per share and to the trader's directional view on IMAX stock.

IMAX butterfly setup

The IMAX butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With IMAX near $33.52, the first option leg uses a $32.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed IMAX chain at a 34-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 IMAX shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).

Action	Type	Strike / Basis	Premium (est)
Buy 1	Call	$32.00	$2.50
Sell 2	Call	$34.00	$1.33
Buy 1	Call	$35.00	$1.00

IMAX butterfly risk and reward

Net Premium / Debit: -$85.00
Max Profit (per contract): $111.97
Max Loss (per contract): -$85.00
Breakeven(s): $32.85
Risk / Reward Ratio: 1.317

Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.

IMAX butterfly payoff curve

Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on IMAX. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.

Underlying Price	% From Spot	P&L at Expiration
$0.01	-100.0%	-$85.00
$7.42	-77.9%	-$85.00
$14.83	-55.8%	-$85.00
$22.24	-33.6%	-$85.00
$29.65	-11.5%	-$85.00
$37.06	+10.6%	+$15.00
$44.47	+32.7%	+$15.00
$51.88	+54.8%	+$15.00
$59.29	+76.9%	+$15.00
$66.70	+99.0%	+$15.00

When traders use butterfly on IMAX

Butterflies on IMAX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect IMAX to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.

IMAX thesis for this butterfly

The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for IMAX extends from approximately $29.92 on the downside to $37.12 on the upside. A IMAX long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if IMAX settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current IMAX IV rank near 45.63% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on IMAX should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Communication Services name, IMAX options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to IMAX-specific events.

IMAX butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. IMAX positions also carry Communication Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move IMAX alongside the broader basket even when IMAX-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current IMAX chain quotes before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a butterfly on IMAX?: A butterfly on IMAX is the butterfly strategy applied to IMAX (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With IMAX stock trading near $33.52, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed IMAX chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
How are IMAX butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?: Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the IMAX butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 37.50%), the computed maximum profit is $111.97 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$85.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
What is the breakeven for a IMAX butterfly?: The breakeven for the IMAX butterfly priced on this page is roughly $32.85 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current IMAX market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 10.75%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
When should you consider a butterfly on IMAX?: Butterflies on IMAX are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect IMAX to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
How does current IMAX implied volatility affect this butterfly?: IMAX ATM IV is at 37.50% with IV rank near 45.63%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.