Large Format/"Premium" Theaters (IMAX 15/70, Digital IMAX, XD, ETX, RPX, etc.)

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

I asked on their Facebook page, and they said a 'generic' "not yet" no timetable for it's reopening

I just hope that I won’t have to go all the way out to Udvar-Hazy to see Dune in Imax. Unless I’m mistaken, some of it was actually captured to be projected in full 1.43:1 for the Imax theaters that are capable of showing it that way. The Alexa Lf’s sensor just so happens to have a native aspect ratio of 1.43:1.

Even without the pandemic, the downtown DC Air & Space Museum is in the middle of their massive multi-year renovation project that will at some point require the theater side of the building to be closed for an extended period of time (they’ve been working on the other side since they started a year or two ago). I might be wrong about this, but I think I even heard that something similar will happen at Udvar and that the timing might overlap, which would mean at some point that the DC area would be without a full-sized Imax until the renovations are done.

Anyway, hopefully the timing will work out so that there’s at least one 1.43:1 theater in the area that’s open for when these movies they were built for actually get released! There’s still No Time to Die in October, although we don’t know yet whether the 15-perf shots will completely fill the screen or if they’ll be cropped to 1.90:1 like WW84.

[ITDEFX101]

Having a private watch party at Udvar would be awesome.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by xbs2034

I saw Nomadland at the Lincoln Square IMAX on Sunday. I recall thinking when I first saw it on Hulu that it was a film I wished I had seen on IMAX. And indeed it’s a beautiful film, plus the IMAX expanded ratio for it was really impressive in the landscape shots (actually stunning in the moment when McDormand is a forest and looks up at a massive tree, you felt a scope there that just couldn’t translate to home viewing).

so even though I was technically supposed to be lying low yesterday, having my second vaccine shot on Wednesday, I quickly scrambled myself together and caught the 4pm last IMAX screening at Tyson's Corner - glad I did not miss out - just beautiful!

[puddy77]

If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

Visual album from Halsey getting an Imax release: https://www.loveandpower.com/

If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power – Official Trailer - YouTube

[Fang Zei]

It looks like the Imax at Air and Space Udvar-Hazy in Chantilly will finally reopen on July 28th.

Meanwhile, it looks like the one at the museum downtown might stay closed for the near future as part of their grand multi-year transformation. I was hoping they wouldn’t get around to renovating that side of the building until after Dune came out, since that’s supposed to have actual 1.43:1 material in the Imax version. Guess I’ll have to get myself out to Chantilly in October.

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by Fang Zei

It looks like the Imax at Air and Space Udvar-Hazy in Chantilly will finally reopen on July 28th.

Meanwhile, it looks like the one at the museum downtown might stay closed for the near future as part of their grand multi-year transformation. I was hoping they wouldn’t get around to renovating that side of the building until after Dune came out, since that’s supposed to have actual 1.43:1 material in the Imax version. Guess I’ll have to get myself out to Chantilly in October.

Yeah but the only good movies that will probably show off the true power of this screen will probably be No time to die and Top Gun, which I originally thought was going to come out in July this year but they pushed it back...wtf?!?!?! The movie is done.

Suicide squad....maybe..

Anyways I am glad it is back.

Did they upgrade the systems or has it been always 4k?

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

Yeah but the only good movies that will probably show off the true power of this screen will probably be No time to die and Top Gun, which I originally thought was going to come out in July this year but they pushed it back...wtf?!?!?! The movie is done.

Suicide squad....maybe..

Anyways I am glad it is back.

Did they upgrade the systems or has it been always 4k?

Airbus IMAX Theater

https://www.si.edu/theaters/airbus

[Fang Zei]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

Yeah but the only good movies that will probably show off the true power of this screen will probably be No time to die and Top Gun, which I originally thought was going to come out in July this year but they pushed it back...wtf?!?!?! The movie is done.

Suicide squad....maybe..

Anyways I am glad it is back.

Did they upgrade the systems or has it been always 4k?

No Time to Die was at least partially shot in actual Imax, which is native 1.43:1.

We still don’t know if it’ll be presented that way, even for the theaters that can do it. Wonder Woman 1984 had a couple scenes shot in native Imax as well, but since some of the shots in those scenes were captured either with Alexa 65 or 5-perf 65mm film (which have wider native aspect ratios around 2.20:1), they opted to “split the difference” and present those scenes in the digital Imax ratio of 1.90:1, even for the full-sized theaters that can do 1.43:1.

No Time to Die’s Imax scenes were apparently shot with a similar mix of both 15-perf (horizontal) and 5-perf (vertical) 65mm film, so it remains to be seen if they’ll take a similar approach to WW84 for the Imax version of the movie.

Top Gun’s Imax version will only be presented in 1.90:1 since that’s actually the native aspect ratio it was shot in. So, seeing it on an actual 1.43:1 Imax screen won’t really gain you anything, other than the picture being bigger of course. And yes, it would’ve come out two weeks ago but that put it right between F9 and Black Widow, so they pushed it back to M:I-7’s date in November, which pushed that back to next year.

Suicide Squad will apparently be presented in 1.90:1 across all “prints” of the movie (even the non-Imax version if I’m understanding correctly, although that’s such a small difference from 1.85:1).

Dune was confirmed to have 1.43:1 scenes a while back, and they’re even doing a special event this week at Imax theaters which will presumably show off how it’s going to look in that format. The one in my neck of the woods is, naturally, at a Liemax, but it’s one of the bigger Liemaxes and happens to be one that’s received the laser upgrade.

Udvar-Hazy was one of the first Imax theaters in the world to get the laser upgrade back in 2015. I remember seeing Tomorrowland there just a few weeks after. Prior to that they were only projecting on Imax film, and they were also 2D-only prior to the upgrade (Air and Space in downtown DC was actually capable of showing 70mm Imax 3D, but I never saw anything in 3D there before they switched over to laser as well).

[BluBonnet]

Do they have ScreenX theaters in Europe?

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Do they have ScreenX theaters in Europe?

http://screenxmovies.com/theater/theater.php

[BluBonnet]

Groovy!

[An4h0ny]

One of our local theatres just switched from "IMAX" to something called "Grand Screen" https://www.bbtheatres.com/grand-screen/

[Modren]

Originally Posted by An4h0ny

One of our local theatres just switched from "IMAX" to something called "Grand Screen" https://www.bbtheatres.com/grand-screen/

Honestly, I wish my local theater hadn't "upgraded" to IMAX. It used to have a nice 4K projector with a fairly large screen, but when they switched to IMAX it dropped to 2K and the screen shrunk. They have a "SuperScreen DLX" thing now, though, but I haven't gone to that.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by An4h0ny

One of our local theatres just switched from "IMAX" to something called "Grand Screen" https://www.bbtheatres.com/grand-screen/

IMAX takes some very hefty royalties from the use of their name plus they have to use IMAX approved equipment. Christie RGB Laser Projectors (2 needed) are not cheap. $95,000 each and that doesn't include the lenses or the companion equipment.

[An4h0ny]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

IMAX takes some very hefty royalties from the use of their name plus they have to use IMAX approved equipment. Christie RGB Laser Projectors (2 needed) are not cheap. $95,000 each and that doesn't include the lenses or the companion equipment.

I kind of figured it had to do with $. So that makes sense. This theater was barely hanging on pre-pandemic. Property owner had to sue the original operator (Frank's) for the rent. Then Paragon bought it but right before everything shut down it switched to B&B. I guess the IMAX fees were just too much.

Originally Posted by Modren

Honestly, I wish my local theater hadn't "upgraded" to IMAX. It used to have a nice 4K projector with a fairly large screen, but when they switched to IMAX it dropped to 2K and the screen shrunk. They have a "SuperScreen DLX" thing now, though, but I haven't gone to that.

Fair point. Also I haven't been to check out the new setup... so it might be better than I'm imagining. Hopefully I can go put eyes on it soon.

[lokie56]

My IMAX theater has had a dead pixel smack in the center of their screen for like over a year i've reported it like 5x and the Regal won't fix it.

[trevrox]

Originally Posted by lokie56

My IMAX theater has had a dead pixel smack in the center of their screen for like over a year i've reported it like 5x and the Regal won't fix it.

Have you contacted Regal or IMAX? Send an email over to DKeighley@imax.com. He's the chief of quality at IMAX. I emailed him after I saw A Quiet Place II in IMAX and the theater had the volume below reference level. The next time I visited it was back to loud IMAX levels

[puddy77]

The original Ghost in the Shell is getting an Imax run: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...-japan/.176456

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by lokie56

My IMAX theater has had a dead pixel smack in the center of their screen for like over a year i've reported it like 5x and the Regal won't fix it.

Regal are the cheapest worst chain theater in terms of being consistent or able to up keep their systems

[Mike0284]

https://imaxmelbourne.com.au/movie/dune

Captured with high-resolution IMAX certified cameras. Over one hour of IMAX exclusive Expanded Aspect Ratio (full screen 1.43:1) presentation.