Tell me about theaters that show IMAX movies
July 25, 2023 9:57 AM Subscribe
I live less than 10 miles from one of the 19 theaters in the U.S. showing Oppenheimer in IMAX 70MM, and that got me wondering about a few things. I don’t remember the last time I saw an IMAX film, probably more than 20 years ago. I’ve watched some YouTube videos that answered my basic questions, which leaves me with a few questions about the theaters themselves.
First, I rarely go to the multiplex, so some of my assumptions could be wrong. I mostly see smaller movies at my neighborhood theater. How does IMAX work from the theater’s perspective, especially economically, given that theaters are really struggling? If IMAX uses a different type of screen, do they have a dedicated screening room just for IMAX? That doesn’t sound right to me, since I didn’t think there are that many IMAX movies released in a year, or am I wrong about that? They can’t leave a screening room empty for weeks on end, right?
My biggest question is, what about the projector? I was under the impression that movies (and projectors) are mostly all digital today. But if the IMAX 70MM is on film, doesn’t that projector cost a fortune? How many times a year is there an IMAX 70MM film? I’m guessing almost never. I can’t imagine theaters being able to afford an expensive projector that almost never gets used. Do they rent them?
In summary, tell me about IMAX from the perspective of business and money, for multiplexes that occasionally show IMAX movies. I know there are dedicated IMAX single theaters (there’s one in downtown Philadelphia, that’s been “temporarily” closed for a few years), but it’s the multiplexes that have me puzzled.
First, I rarely go to the multiplex, so some of my assumptions could be wrong. I mostly see smaller movies at my neighborhood theater. How does IMAX work from the theater’s perspective, especially economically, given that theaters are really struggling? If IMAX uses a different type of screen, do they have a dedicated screening room just for IMAX? That doesn’t sound right to me, since I didn’t think there are that many IMAX movies released in a year, or am I wrong about that? They can’t leave a screening room empty for weeks on end, right?
My biggest question is, what about the projector? I was under the impression that movies (and projectors) are mostly all digital today. But if the IMAX 70MM is on film, doesn’t that projector cost a fortune? How many times a year is there an IMAX 70MM film? I’m guessing almost never. I can’t imagine theaters being able to afford an expensive projector that almost never gets used. Do they rent them?
In summary, tell me about IMAX from the perspective of business and money, for multiplexes that occasionally show IMAX movies. I know there are dedicated IMAX single theaters (there’s one in downtown Philadelphia, that’s been “temporarily” closed for a few years), but it’s the multiplexes that have me puzzled.
do they have a dedicated screening room just for IMAX
Yes, although, an IMAX screen can just show giant regular format movies using a different projector if there isn't an IMAX movie to show.
doesn’t that projector cost a fortune?
Yes
How many times a year is there an IMAX 70MM film? I’m guessing almost never.
Yup.
In summary, tell me about IMAX from the perspective of business and money, for multiplexes that occasionally show IMAX movies.
It's not for the money. Nolan flew out to my local theater (Regal Irvine Spectrum) in fall 2021 when Tenet was released because it's one the few with with a 70mm film IMAX projector (even through that theater wasn't one of the seven that got the 70mm IMAX print of that movie), just to beg people to keep their local theaters in business. Nolan is part of a very small cadre (Cruise, Villeneuve, and not many others, even Bay discovered drones and small digital cameras) that want to keep doing cinema in the old fashioned ways, and they aren't in for the money.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 10:11 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yes, although, an IMAX screen can just show giant regular format movies using a different projector if there isn't an IMAX movie to show.
doesn’t that projector cost a fortune?
Yes
How many times a year is there an IMAX 70MM film? I’m guessing almost never.
Yup.
In summary, tell me about IMAX from the perspective of business and money, for multiplexes that occasionally show IMAX movies.
It's not for the money. Nolan flew out to my local theater (Regal Irvine Spectrum) in fall 2021 when Tenet was released because it's one the few with with a 70mm film IMAX projector (even through that theater wasn't one of the seven that got the 70mm IMAX print of that movie), just to beg people to keep their local theaters in business. Nolan is part of a very small cadre (Cruise, Villeneuve, and not many others, even Bay discovered drones and small digital cameras) that want to keep doing cinema in the old fashioned ways, and they aren't in for the money.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 10:11 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here's a story about TCL Chinese Theatre needing an construction upgrade to handle the giant Oppenheimer reels. There are pictures too. Apparently the reel is 11 miles long and weighs 600 pounds. The screen is 80+ feet tall, and there are only 17 such screens in the US.
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:13 AM on July 25, 2023
posted by The_Vegetables at 10:13 AM on July 25, 2023
The 70mm, 1.43-ratio IMAX theaters exist because they're a sunk cost that was recouped decades ago - all those expensive 70mm IMAX projectors are fully paid off, and with good maintenance, can probably keep operating for decades. Many Century JJ projectors, which can perform standard 35mm as well as 70mm, were made in the '60s are are still in operation today across the country!
Now, nobody is opening new 70mm IMAX theaters because the cost of building one is far too great and there is substantial doubt about the ongoing availability of 70mm prints even with Nolan's support - but if you have an IMAX theater, there has generally still been enough content available to keep it running. It costs much less to operate a theater at positive cash flow than it is to put up the investment to build that theater.
It is likely that the large 1.43-format IMAX screens will be able to persist in perpetuity by switching over to the newer IMAX Dual Laser digital format, as several screens in the US have done. I've seen DUNE, NOPE and OPPENHEIMER at my local 1.43-ratio IMAX Dual Laser theater, and while I love 70mm, IMAX Dual Laser is still a very impressive format and an adequate replacement.
posted by eschatfische at 10:47 AM on July 25, 2023 [8 favorites]
Now, nobody is opening new 70mm IMAX theaters because the cost of building one is far too great and there is substantial doubt about the ongoing availability of 70mm prints even with Nolan's support - but if you have an IMAX theater, there has generally still been enough content available to keep it running. It costs much less to operate a theater at positive cash flow than it is to put up the investment to build that theater.
It is likely that the large 1.43-format IMAX screens will be able to persist in perpetuity by switching over to the newer IMAX Dual Laser digital format, as several screens in the US have done. I've seen DUNE, NOPE and OPPENHEIMER at my local 1.43-ratio IMAX Dual Laser theater, and while I love 70mm, IMAX Dual Laser is still a very impressive format and an adequate replacement.
posted by eschatfische at 10:47 AM on July 25, 2023 [8 favorites]
An IMAX theater is physically very different from a regular theater. The seating area is very steep. Walking up the aisles is almost like walking up the side of a cliff. The screen fills a huge percentage of your field of vision, from way down below to way up above and side to side. IMAX theater create significant disorienting effect, akin to vertigo. It goes beyond just seeing a movie on a big screen.
I can't speak to the economics of them. I imagine for science museums they are part of the overall package of getting visitors. At the Boston MOS you do have to pay extra for an IMAX show, and the shows are short -- around 30-40 minutes, so they can fit more during the day.
As far as feature films, I spoke with a friend last night who drove 40 minutes to see Oppenheimer in an IMAX theater, and he highly recommends it. He said it was well worth the drive and the cost.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:50 AM on July 25, 2023
I can't speak to the economics of them. I imagine for science museums they are part of the overall package of getting visitors. At the Boston MOS you do have to pay extra for an IMAX show, and the shows are short -- around 30-40 minutes, so they can fit more during the day.
As far as feature films, I spoke with a friend last night who drove 40 minutes to see Oppenheimer in an IMAX theater, and he highly recommends it. He said it was well worth the drive and the cost.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:50 AM on July 25, 2023
Best answer: My city has a full IMAX theatre, it's one dedicated theatre in a multiplex with a dozen or so normal screens. As Winnie The Proust says, the physical shape of the theatre is unlike any other. You can see it here (you might have to activate the 'satellite view' layer) on Google Maps. The multiplex is the reddish part at the south end of the mall; the IMAX screen is on the west side of the multiplex in the centre. The IMAX theatre is about 50% taller than any other part of the multiplex. (We used to have a dedicated one-screen IMAX in a 'festival market' downtown, but it sadly went under about 5-10 years before Hollywood started making IMAX movies.)
It still has a 70mm projector, but it also has digital projection equipment that's capable of showing movies that aren't on 70mm film, which is most of them. Look at the list of movies released in IMAX. An awful lot of major movies have at least some scenes filmed on IMAX-capable cameras, and I assume that CGI-rendered scenes can be processed into appropriate resolution for IMAX showing no matter what. So when it's not showing Oppenheimer, it was showing the most recent sequels/remakes in the Avatar, Ant-Man, Creed, Fast & Furious, The Little Mermaid, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. brands. A movie theatre that mostly shows mega-budget action and superhero movies with the occasional Disney/Pixar film is still a very profitable one. Particularly since the tickets cost 50% more than a standard ticket.
And even if it's not filmed for IMAX projection, the theatre still has a great sound system and a 70 foot screen; I notice on the Wikipedia list that Aronofsky's Pi was released in a one-day (3/14) IMAX screening this year; that film was famously shot on the cheap on 16mm high-contrast slide film. And I'm sure it would have been amazing to see it in something so immersive.
posted by Superilla at 11:13 AM on July 25, 2023
It still has a 70mm projector, but it also has digital projection equipment that's capable of showing movies that aren't on 70mm film, which is most of them. Look at the list of movies released in IMAX. An awful lot of major movies have at least some scenes filmed on IMAX-capable cameras, and I assume that CGI-rendered scenes can be processed into appropriate resolution for IMAX showing no matter what. So when it's not showing Oppenheimer, it was showing the most recent sequels/remakes in the Avatar, Ant-Man, Creed, Fast & Furious, The Little Mermaid, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. brands. A movie theatre that mostly shows mega-budget action and superhero movies with the occasional Disney/Pixar film is still a very profitable one. Particularly since the tickets cost 50% more than a standard ticket.
And even if it's not filmed for IMAX projection, the theatre still has a great sound system and a 70 foot screen; I notice on the Wikipedia list that Aronofsky's Pi was released in a one-day (3/14) IMAX screening this year; that film was famously shot on the cheap on 16mm high-contrast slide film. And I'm sure it would have been amazing to see it in something so immersive.
posted by Superilla at 11:13 AM on July 25, 2023
A proper IMAX screen would have a little intro at the beginning, where lights behind the screen would show you that the screen is very tall, but also have a TON of sound equipment all around, so you get true surround sound. If you've never been there, I recommend going at least once.
posted by kschang at 2:04 PM on July 25, 2023
posted by kschang at 2:04 PM on July 25, 2023
Sure, but leave your progressive glasses at home. With progressives, half the screen will be a blur. You'll have to watch the movie whipping your head around like a bird.
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:49 PM on July 25, 2023
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:49 PM on July 25, 2023
Response by poster: So, I saw Oppenheimer today and one of my questions was answered: Yes, the multiplex has a dedicated theater just for IMAX, which everyone but me probably already knew. The more I've thought about this, I think I'd only seen one previous IMAX movie, at a museum, more than 20 years ago, so I was completely clueless. The list of IMAX movies from Superilla was very helpful. I had no idea there were that many IMAX movies each year, so now I'm guessing the dedicated theater doesn't sit unused very often.
Since I posted this question, I've watched lots of YouTube videos about how the 70MM film gets handled, including this one about the assembly process, which I had no idea about. At the theater today I asked an employee (I think he was an usher) if they have skilled people on staff who do the assembly and he didn't know about that, but he said someone from IMAX stops by every day to "check on things."
So I have 3 follow up questions:
(1) The assembly process looks like a highly skilled task, is it likely that someone from IMAX goes to each theater to do that? That's my guess, based on what this usher said.
(2) Does the projectionist for the 70MM film need any special skills or training or, once the film is assembled, is it mostly "automated?"
(3) There's a theater in center city Philadelphia that's showing Oppenheimer in 35MM. Does anyone know if that comes in multiple reels like movies used to (as opposed to having to be assembled)? Was wondering if it takes special training to run the projector for 35MM, because isn't showing movies on film a lost art?
For the first two questions, I'm so curious, that if no one knows the answer, I'll probably call the theater and see if anyone will talk to me. Thanks for the all the great answers, they were all very helpful.
posted by daikon at 7:28 PM on August 3, 2023
Since I posted this question, I've watched lots of YouTube videos about how the 70MM film gets handled, including this one about the assembly process, which I had no idea about. At the theater today I asked an employee (I think he was an usher) if they have skilled people on staff who do the assembly and he didn't know about that, but he said someone from IMAX stops by every day to "check on things."
So I have 3 follow up questions:
(1) The assembly process looks like a highly skilled task, is it likely that someone from IMAX goes to each theater to do that? That's my guess, based on what this usher said.
(2) Does the projectionist for the 70MM film need any special skills or training or, once the film is assembled, is it mostly "automated?"
(3) There's a theater in center city Philadelphia that's showing Oppenheimer in 35MM. Does anyone know if that comes in multiple reels like movies used to (as opposed to having to be assembled)? Was wondering if it takes special training to run the projector for 35MM, because isn't showing movies on film a lost art?
For the first two questions, I'm so curious, that if no one knows the answer, I'll probably call the theater and see if anyone will talk to me. Thanks for the all the great answers, they were all very helpful.
posted by daikon at 7:28 PM on August 3, 2023
Best answer: Well, I'll give these a go -- a close relative is a fully-trained IMAX projectionist, and I've had the booth tour, so...
First of all, the person assembling the film, and the projectionist, are generally one and the same.
1 & 2) The video you linked shows the assembly process very well; basically standard issue splicing, albeit with giant-size film. If you're someone who grew up with analog media, like audio tape or 35mm movies, it's the way things have been done forever. It does require great attention to detail and craftsmanship, but the operator has to do this for every movie they show; it's just not practical to ship an 11-mile long, 600 lb piece of film. Plus there's always breakages and patches that need fixing up, so it's an essential, ongoing job, and not at all an automated, 'set it and forget it' type of thing.
So the assembly person is also the projectionist person, or can be -- depending on showtimes and work schedule. If Joe on the day shift receives the new Dune, Part 2 print (I'm drooling, I tell you! Can't wait!), he can start assembling it for Saturday night's showing, with Jane as the projectionist. And if, god forbid, the film breaks, she's there to splice it back together. I mean, sure, there's a 'Head Projectionist' hierarchy, in charge of everything, but pretty sure all the projectionists can do basic splicing.
I believe every 'true IMAX' theater has at least one fully-trained, IMAX-certified projectionist. My relative spent a week in Toronto getting trained, and he was expected to bring back The Knowledge to the local staff. He was actually an IMAX employee, come to think of it -- not employed by the local theater (but full-time at that location). But that was awhile ago, and there were layoffs, so not sure if that's still standard practice or not.
3) If it's on film, I'm pretty sure it's still sent on reels (smaller ones, to be sure) that still need to be spliced together
---
Probably pay-walled, but the Chicago Tribune film critic does a good job explaining the different IMAX formats, as well as some of the aesthetic choices available to Nolan when he made 'Oppenheimer'.
posted by Bron at 2:53 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
First of all, the person assembling the film, and the projectionist, are generally one and the same.
1 & 2) The video you linked shows the assembly process very well; basically standard issue splicing, albeit with giant-size film. If you're someone who grew up with analog media, like audio tape or 35mm movies, it's the way things have been done forever. It does require great attention to detail and craftsmanship, but the operator has to do this for every movie they show; it's just not practical to ship an 11-mile long, 600 lb piece of film. Plus there's always breakages and patches that need fixing up, so it's an essential, ongoing job, and not at all an automated, 'set it and forget it' type of thing.
So the assembly person is also the projectionist person, or can be -- depending on showtimes and work schedule. If Joe on the day shift receives the new Dune, Part 2 print (I'm drooling, I tell you! Can't wait!), he can start assembling it for Saturday night's showing, with Jane as the projectionist. And if, god forbid, the film breaks, she's there to splice it back together. I mean, sure, there's a 'Head Projectionist' hierarchy, in charge of everything, but pretty sure all the projectionists can do basic splicing.
I believe every 'true IMAX' theater has at least one fully-trained, IMAX-certified projectionist. My relative spent a week in Toronto getting trained, and he was expected to bring back The Knowledge to the local staff. He was actually an IMAX employee, come to think of it -- not employed by the local theater (but full-time at that location). But that was awhile ago, and there were layoffs, so not sure if that's still standard practice or not.
3) If it's on film, I'm pretty sure it's still sent on reels (smaller ones, to be sure) that still need to be spliced together
---
Probably pay-walled, but the Chicago Tribune film critic does a good job explaining the different IMAX formats, as well as some of the aesthetic choices available to Nolan when he made 'Oppenheimer'.
posted by Bron at 2:53 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: For anyone coming across this in the future, I found two recent articles with good information on how IMAX made sure theaters were able to show the movie in 70MM, making preparations starting two years in advance. Article 1 and Article 2, Variety.
The Variety article is from yesterday. Here's one passage that was part of what I was looking for:
The Variety article is from yesterday. Here's one passage that was part of what I was looking for:
But there are serious limitations when it comes to bringing the format to a wider audience. For one, Imax has only 30 Imax film projectors in rotation worldwide, and it takes three days to create each print. Since most theaters have switched over completely to digital projection, the company worked for two years to evaluate, reinstall and fix Imax 70mm projectors, sending tech teams to every site to perfect the audiovisual components. With “Oppenheimer,” Imax oversaw the hiring of 50 film projectionists globally and helped develop the first-ever Imax 70mm black-and-white film, bringing some of Kodak’s more experienced personnel out of retirement in the process.posted by daikon at 8:33 PM on August 17, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
The IMAX theaters I've been to were dedicated, single-screen, IMAX theaters inside facilities like museums and the like. They show generic-ish IMAX movies like nature, space, travel, etc. films most of the time.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:05 AM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]