Now, however, the format has become more popular with film makers thanks to digital technology. Any child growing up in the 80s or 90s pretty much thought of IMAX as the big theaters in science museums where you could watch To Fly!, which seemed like the only IMAX movie there was for about a decade. IMAX film is massive - big screens, big film, big projectors - and special IMAX cameras have to be used to create it. IMAX, in its original state, was less of a theater experience and more an entire filmmaking process. Most theaters projecting in 70mm care enough about the sound that that shouldn’t be an issue, and while you won’t get the luxury seating most of the time your eyes are going to be to happy anyway to care. If you ever get a chance to screen something like Laurence of Arabia on an original 70mm print pay whatever it takes to do so.
Seeing a film in 70mm easily lives up to the hype. Then again, almost nothing is filmed in 70mm anymore so hunting down a theater is only really necessary once every few years when a film releases in it. If you’re not near a major city that features a plethora of museums or independent theaters dedicated to screening older films you’re going to have a lot of trouble finding one. Art houses and science museums are keeping it alive, while “branded” IMAX cinemas do their best to replicate it in digital. Originally used solely for epic films that needed a grandeur and fidelity that 35mm couldn’t offer, it’s use is even more limited now. Sadly, most theater chains are strictly digital now so you can’t just go out and see a 70mm film anywhere. It is simply breathtaking in its visual quality. The picture is crisper and more striking than even the best digital can grab, and there’s a reason the best director working, Christopher Nolan, shoots his epic films with it, and then forces an entire industry to capitulate to his screening rules to the point that they need to release explanatory documentation. The OG of specialty cinematic experiences, it still doesn’t get any better than this. We’re keeping it at these three because that’s where most Americans see their movies, though many of the experiences we’re discussing are actually on offer outside of these companies. So here’s a quick run down of all your options at the three largest North American movie chains: AMC, Regal, and Cinemark. Better pictures, sound, and seating are all included in this, but there are now multiple ways to watch every movie out there and it can be a bit confusing to decide what’s the best choice. These renovations delivered newly branded theater experiences. If you live anywhere near a metropolitan area the chances are you live near a plethora of movie theaters that have been renovated in the last five years. With home theaters and streaming platforms eating into their profits more and more there has to be a reason you come to the theater. Movie theaters are having to come up with new ways to get everyone into them.
However, there are now a crap ton of options for how to view each film and its tough to know which one to choose and why in the hell you’re paying upwards of $30 for a single movie ticket. AMC and Cinemark have their own subscription services and Regal is experimenting with some pricing shifts, so it is easier to get a ticket and go more often. Going to the movie theaters isn’t actually getting any easier.