IMAX film offers unparalleled movie immersion
In 2023, before the release of his film Oppenheimer, director Christopher Nolan described to the Associated Press what he considers the ideal theater experience. He spoke about a specific film format that, in his words, offers “the sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image” that is “unparalleled.” The format he championed was IMAX 70mm, a version of IMAX projection that uses giant reels of film instead of digital projection. Nolan argued that this format allows the screen to effectively disappear for the viewer. He explained that by filling the audience’s peripheral vision, the film immerses them completely in its world. He compared the effect to “a feeling of 3D without the glasses.”
For Nolan’s latest epic, The Odyssey, the stakes for this format are higher than ever. The director shot the entire movie using IMAX cameras. These cameras capture a much larger image than a standard movie screen can display. Because the film itself is around 10 times larger than traditional 35mm film, it can capture far more detail. This creates a sharper image on the biggest screens. However, the ability to show that full image is now incredibly rare. Most theaters replaced their film projectors with digital ones years ago. This leaves only a small number of venues in the U.S. still able to show. The Odyssey in this way.
The scarcity of this experience has turned ticket buying into a major event. When tickets first went on sale last summer, many opening-weekend screenings sold out within minutes. Tickets for popular theaters such as AMC Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles and the AMC Lincoln Square in New York, according to the Associated Press, “are virtually sold out for weeks.” Some tickets have appeared on resale sites for as much as $500 each. The demand is so high that some moviegoers are even flying to Melbourne, Australia. That city is home to the southern hemisphere’s only IMAX 70mm theater. The theater’s general manager, Jeremy Fee, told the Guardian that “people have built their holidays around their Odyssey screening.”
The Mechanical
Heart of a Rare Projection System
The bottleneck for this viewing experience is not just the film itself, but the machinery required to show it. IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told Variety that the demand for more IMAX 70mm screens in the U.S. certainly exists. The problem, he explained, is that “they haven’t made new IMAX film projectors in about 50 years.” This means the projectors currently in use are aging machines. Many of the parts needed to build or repair them, an IMAX source told Variety, “simply no longer exist.” This mechanical scarcity is the direct reason why only 25 U.S. theaters can show the movie as Nolan intended.
The format itself, known as IMAX 70mm, relies on a physical medium that is now an anomaly in a digital world. Standard movie theaters use 35mm film, a format that has been the industry standard for decades. IMAX 70mm film is roughly 10 times larger than that. This larger surface area is not just about a bigger picture. It allows for an extraordinary amount of detail to be captured and projected. When a film is shot with IMAX cameras, the image fills the entire frame. In a standard theater, that image is cropped to fit the screen. In an IMAX 70mm theater, the full, uncropped image is visible. This is the difference Nolan described as letting the screen disappear.
The result of this mechanical process is a profound change in the viewer’s experience. Because the image fills the peripheral vision, the boundaries of the screen become less noticeable. The audience is not watching a framed picture; they are inside the world of the film. This is the core reason why Nolan advocates so strongly for the format. He has called it the “best possible experience” for watching a film. The sharpness and clarity, combined with the immersive field of view, create a sensation that is distinct from standard digital projection. It is a physical, almost sensory, difference that cannot be replicated by a smaller screen or a digital projector.
The Geographic Reality of a Lost Art
The distribution of these 25 theaters across the U.S. creates a specific geographic challenge for moviegoers. The map of available theaters is not evenly spread. Major cities like Los Angeles and New York have venues, such as the AMC Universal CityWalk and the AMC Lincoln Square, where tickets are in extremely high demand. For someone living outside these metropolitan areas, the nearest IMAX 70mm theater could be hours away. This geographic scarcity is a direct result of the industry’s shift away from film. The theaters that kept their film projectors are now the only places that can offer this experience.
The situation in Australia highlights the global nature of this scarcity. The only IMAX 70mm theater in the southern hemisphere is in Melbourne. Jeremy Fee, the theater’s general manager, noted that people have structured entire holidays around their Odyssey screening. This is not an exaggeration. The combination of a highly anticipated film, a director known for his commitment to the format, and the physical rarity of the equipment has created a perfect storm. The demand is so high that IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told Variety that some theaters are sold out into the fifth week already. This level of sustained demand is unusual for a film release.
Sources
1. The Guardian
2. Variety