IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond described the success of Christopher Nolan’s action epic “The Odyssey” as a “frenzy” while discussing his record-breaking blockbuster weekend debut on “The Claman Countdown.”

“The Odyssey,” directed by the renowned Christopher Nolan, stunned box offices over the weekend after its Friday debut, raking in more than $124 million in ticket sales.

“They always say, ‘Does the movie have legs? We’ll find out.’ We’ve already found out the movie has legs,” Gelfond said Tuesday.

‘ODYSSEY’ STARS ZENDAYA, ANNE HATHAWAY AND MATT DAMON TURN HEADS AS DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER NOLAN FACES BACKLASH

The nearly three-hour action epic is adapted from Homer’s 3,000-year-old poem “The Odyssey” and was filmed exclusively on IMAX 70mm film cameras.

“Chris Nolan made a brilliant movie, and without the brilliant movie there wouldn’t be anything,” Gelfond said. “But I think IMAX has been like a booster to that movie.”

Gelfond said the doorbuster movie sold out both late night and early morning show times with moviegoers racing to watch the film’s A-list cast, including Matt Damon, and Zendaya, on the big screen.

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“What showing times were sold out?” FOX Business host Liz Claman asked.

“Midnights, 3 a.m., 6 a.ms. People I haven’t heard from in years are saying, ‘Remember me? I’m in town. Call to say hello. By the way, do you happen to have an extra pair of tickets?’” Gelfond said. “It’s really, it’s a frenzy. There’s no other word to put it.”

The movie giant CEO said the film’s quick success is “crazy and gratifying,” telling FOX Business about the call from Nolan that started it all.

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“Chris called me over a year ago in February 2024, and he said, ‘I want to make a whole film in IMAX, but the camera is not quiet enough. It’s not wide enough. I need more projectionists,’” Gelfond explained. “He gave us a list of 10 to 15 things. And he said, ‘I need these done, then I’ll make a movie all in IMAX.’”

“We met the challenge. And it wasn’t easy to do and it took a lot of resources, but it worked. And obviously, the financial results and esthetic results speak for themselves.”

Gelfond expects “The Odyssey” to increase demand for IMAX films.

More than 2 million feet of IMAX film was used to make “The Odyssey” and Gelfond predicts the movie will bring more traction for his movie screen giant.

With only 41 70mm screens in the world, Claman questioned Gelfond about whether the company is looking to expand IMAX theaters.

The CEO said the screens, which take as much production care as a luxury vehicle, are hard to expand in large numbers.

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“A lot of the parts are out of use,” Gelfond told FOX Business.

“It’s almost like a Rolls-Royce. The parts, the economic model… So there are limited locations where the economics could work, but we’re always looking for new ideas and building it out.”

Novo Nordisk sued Eli Lilly on Tuesday, accusing its rival of misleading consumers by claiming Lilly’s drugs work better than Novo’s competing treatments.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, argues that Lilly’s ads for Zepbound and Mounjaro compared the highest doses of its drugs with lower doses of Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic. Novo said the ads rely on “outdated” trial data, according to Reuters.

“The ads are maliciously and deceptively false because Lilly knowingly cites outdated clinical trials that compare the highest doses of the Lilly medicines to lower doses of Novo Nordisk’s medicines,” Novo said in its complaint.

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Meanwhile, Lilly rejected the claims and said its ads are based on its SURMOUNT-5 trial, completed in 2024, which compared patients taking 10 mg or 15 mg of Zepbound with those taking 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg of Wegovy.

The FDA approved a higher 7.2 mg dose of Wegovy in March, Reuters reported.

“The gold standard for comparing medicines is a robustly designed, well-conducted head-to-head clinical trial — like SURMOUNT-5, which remains the only head-to-head, randomized clinical trial directly comparing tirzepatide and semaglutide in weight management,” a Lilly spokesperson told FOX Business in an email.

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“Rather than compete on the merits of its products, Novo is asking a court to stop Lilly from communicating the results of that trial. We stand firmly behind our advertising,” the spokesperson added. “It is truthful, it is transparent, and it is grounded in the most direct scientific evidence available — exactly what patients deserve. We will continue to focus on the science and defend against this lawsuit vigorously.”

Novo is asking the court to order Lilly to remove the ads and run corrective advertising. It is also seeking damages tied to any profits Lilly may have earned from the campaign.

The two companies are competing for control of the fast-growing obesity drug market in the U.S., which analysts say could be worth more than $100 billion by the end of the decade, according to Reuters.

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Novo said it sent Lilly a cease-and-desist letter in April but received no response.

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The company also said Lilly’s revised ads have been shown more than 700 million times since late April.

Novo Nordisk could not immediately be reached by FOX Business for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.

US President Donald Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods imported from Canada, in retaliation for what he called “unequal treatment” of US cars, dairy and alcohol.

The BBC spoke to Canadians in Montreal from across the country about their concerns over the new tariffs.

Video by Eloise Alanna

There’s no doubt that the Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, DSA, socialist Democrats want to stop every budget item on the GOP list. And it’s a pretty fair chance that their goal is a government shutdown at the end of September, which they believe will damage the economy and reelect democratic majorities in the midterms.

They’re going to be wrong about that just like they are so wrong on every other policy question. And therefore, it’s understandable that Republicans in Congress are scrambling either to get a continuing resolution or a 3.0 budget reconciliation to get some important work done, including funding the military and the voter identification bill, and other priorities.

But, and here’s the big but, what’s being discussed is not a good budget strategy. Specifically it lacks progrowth tax reform and spending cuts. Offsets in spending, known on Capitol Hill as “pay fors,” are important.

The White House wants to sprinkle foreign spending assistance, well ok, let them pay for it. After all the work done by the Medicare chief, Mehmet Oz, and Vice President Vance on waste, fraud, and corruption for the whole healthcare Medicaid complex, where are the budget cutting results that will show genuine change to drain the swamp at Washington?

Or on the tax front, inflation has gone up 108 percent in the last nearly 30 years. Why aren’t they adjusting the capital gains exemption at least on the sale of homes, or why aren’t they inflation-indexing the capital gains tax, again at least on the sale of homes. Why should middle-class home owners have to be taxed on President Biden’s inflation? Or the Covid inflation?

Without budget reforms and tax reforms and a growthier approach to fiscal policy, even the best-intentioned Republicans are not going to have a Big Bang budget package that would generate serious interest from the grass roots come November. For Republicans, where’s the Big Bang tax and spending pro-growth budget package?

As the conflict between Iran and the US continues to escalate, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said investors are underestimating geopolitical and fiscal risks that could eventually rattle stock markets, adding that he would not buy either equities or bonds at the current prices.

“I do think those risks are probably bigger than other people think,” Dimon said during an interview with Wilfred Frost, highlighting the wars in Ukraine and Middle East, along with rising tensions between US-China, leading to rising military spending at a time when government deficits are escalating.

When asked if markets are underpricing the chance of a major shock ahead, the JPMorgan CEO said it is difficult to know exactly what risks are already reflected in asset prices. “It is possible something is baked in, but what is not baked in is what actually happens,” he said during the interview.

He however acknowledged that the global economy has become more resilient because of a lower energy dependence than in previous decades. However, that does not completely wipe off the possibility of a sudden inflection point following the previous selloff seen this year, according to Dimon.

Would Jamie Dimon consider buying some stocks?

For the stock market, Dimon said he would consider an individual stock if it was “a great investment,” but he would not be a buyer of the broader market at current valuations. He also will not be a buyer of US Treasury bonds right now.

Dimon also raised worries about the massive AI spending by hyperscalers. “The amount of money being spent is huge. Will it in total pay off? Probably, just like the internet did,” he said during the interview. “Will it pay off the way you expect and the timetable you expect? Definitely not,” Dimon said.

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This comes as oil prices jumped after the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US broke down as the countries exchanged strikes. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday said that they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the US in its war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.Goldman Sachs in its recent note warned that Brent crude could surge to $120 per barrel if disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz persist, even as its base case assumes an eventual easing of tensions in the Middle East.

JPMorgan last week reported a stellar set of earnings, posting its highest profit in history by a US bank.

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(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

A figure circulating in iGaming circles puts crypto casino and sportsbook Toshi.bet at a valuation of around $200 million — a striking number for a company founded only in 2023.

According to industry estimates, the platform’s rapid rise reflects a broader boom in crypto-based online gaming, where operators built around cryptocurrency payments and fast payouts are growing quickly. Here’s what’s behind the valuation and why the crypto-gaming sector is drawing attention.

What is Toshi.bet?

Toshi.bet is an online crypto casino and sportsbook that launched in 2023 and operates entirely in cryptocurrency, combining casino games with a sportsbook. Its core proposition is speed — users can register without traditional identity verification and withdraw funds quickly — and it operates under a valid gaming licence.

That low-friction model is central to why the platform has grown quickly enough to attract a nine-figure valuation estimate in just three years.

Why is Toshi.bet reportedly valued at $200 million?

According to industry estimates, Toshi.bet’s valuation of around $200 million is driven by three factors common to fast-growing crypto-gaming platforms: rapid user growth, high transaction volumes, and the margins available in a largely crypto-native business that avoids traditional banking overheads.

Because the platform settles deposits and withdrawals in cryptocurrency rather than through banks, it sidesteps card-processing fees and multi-day settlement times. For a business processing high volumes, those efficiencies compound. Combined with a growing user base drawn to fast, low-friction sign-up, the economics help explain why a three-year-old company is being estimated at this level.

How has the crypto casino sector grown so fast?

The crypto-gambling sector has expanded rapidly as cryptocurrency adoption has become mainstream. Platforms in this space share a common model: they let users play and bet using digital currencies, often with fewer barriers to entry than traditional operators.

Factor	Traditional online casino	Crypto casino (e.g. Toshi.bet)
Payment rails	Banks / card networks	Cryptocurrency
Withdrawal time	1–5 business days	Under 2 minutes
Onboarding	ID verification (1–3 days)	No KYC at sign-up
Processing costs	Card / bank fees	Lower, crypto-native
Global reach	Limited by banking	Borderless via crypto

The lower overheads and faster settlement give crypto-native operators structural advantages that translate into growth — and, for the fastest-growing names, valuations that rival far older companies.

Is the crypto-gaming boom sustainable?

The sector’s growth is real, but it operates in a shifting regulatory landscape. Different countries treat online gambling and cryptocurrency very differently, and operators’ long-term prospects depend heavily on how regulation evolves in their key markets. Analysts watching the space tend to weigh rapid growth against this regulatory uncertainty.

For now, the momentum is clear: crypto-native operators like Toshi.bet are growing fast enough to draw nine-figure valuation estimates within a few years of launching — a pace rarely seen in traditional gaming.

The bottom line

A reported $200 million valuation just three years after launch places Toshi.bet among the faster-growing names in a booming crypto-gaming sector. The combination of cryptocurrency payments, lighter onboarding, and fast withdrawals has helped crypto-native operators grow at a pace that’s reshaping the online gaming industry. Whether that momentum holds will depend, as ever, on how regulation develops across key markets.

This article covers business and industry developments. Online gambling involves financial risk and is age-restricted; readers should check the laws that apply where they live.

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday directed depositories to put in place an operational framework and necessary system enhancements by August 1 to implement the newly introduced mechanism for freezing promoter holdings at the ISIN level during share buybacks.

In a circular, Sebi asked depositories to issue operational guidelines covering the implementation of the ISIN-level freeze on promoter and promoter group holdings, including the format for listed companies to issue freezing instructions.

The framework will also lay down operational modalities for permitting promoters to tender shares in buybacks conducted through the tender offer route and for allowing the invocation or release of encumbrances created before the commencement of the buyback period.

In such cases, the freeze will continue to apply to the invoked or released shares or other specified securities.

“The depositories shall ensure that the operational framework and the necessary system enhancements are put in place before August 1, 2026,” Sebi said.

The circular follows the regulator’s notification issued on July 1, 2026, which amended the Sebi (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations, 2018. Under the amended rules, promoter and promoter group holdings, including those of their associates, will remain frozen at the ISIN level from the date the board of directors or shareholders approve the buyback until the offer closes.
The amended regulations provide two exceptions — promoters can tender shares in buybacks undertaken through the tender offer route, and encumbrances created before the commencement of the buyback period may be invoked, while ensuring that the freeze continues to apply to the invoked or released shares.