Ever since THE DARK KNIGHT gave audiences a taste of a superhero movie with footage filmed for a larger-than-usual format, the IMAX brand has moved out of museums and into the multiplex. Now if you want to see a movie with IMAX footage, you can look to titles like MUFASA: THE LION KING and, at some locations, NOSFERATU.
Even more movies are formatted for IMAX, so that there's a new IMAX movie in theaters multiple times a year. If you're looking for IMAX movie showtimes and other info about seeing IMAX movies, we're here to help!
A Brief History of IMAX
IMAX was born in the 1970s. The company develops both theater technology and film-capture systems. A movie might be created with IMAX cameras. Christopher Nolan uses these extensively, as does DUNE director Denis Villeneuve. Even movies filmed for IMAX can be projected in a non-IMAX theater.
A few IMAX theaters offer 70mm film projection, which can create an amazing viewing experience. (This was positioned as the ideal way to see OPPENHEIMER.) There are only a handful of those theaters in the United States, however. And there are still some IMAX theaters at museums which offer large-format film projection but do not show commercially-released movies.
New IMAX Movies This Season
These new movies will play on IMAX screens at participating Cinemark theaters.
The Brutalist
Escaping postwar Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his career, and his marriage. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent. [DATE]
Captain America: Brave New World IMAX Fan Event
See the new Captain America movie first — and see it IMAX! Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident after meeting with President Thaddeus Ross. He must soon discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
Companion
New Line Cinema—the studio that brought you “The Notebook”—and the unhinged creators of “Barbarian” cordially invite you to experience a new kind of love story. Written and directed by Drew Hancock (“My Dead Ex,” “Suburgatory”), “Companion” stars Sophie Thatcher (“Yellowjackets,” “The Boogeyman”), Jack Quaid (“The Boys,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”), Lukas Gage (“Smile 2,” “Dead Boy Detectives”), Megan Suri (“Never Have I Ever,” “It Lives Inside”), Harvey Guillén (“What We Do in the Shadows,” “Blue Beetle”) and Rupert Friend (“High Desert,” “Asteroid City”). The film is produced by the filmmakers behind “Barbarian”—Raphael Margules, J.D. Lifshitz, Zach Cregger and Roy Lee.
Wicked
Before it was a smash stage musical, the story in WICKED was born in the book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," by Gregory Maguire. Now the movie WICKED explores the untold story of the witches of Oz, with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Read more about WICKED here.
Why Doesn't Every Movie Use IMAX?
IMAX cameras create amazing images but they can be bulky and expensive. The film-based IMAX cameras, which Christopher Nolan prefers, are also quite loud, which has always made them difficult to use for intimate scenes. New tech was developed to make OPPENHEIMER easier to capture entirely with IMAX film cameras, for example, and perhaps we'll see other filmmakers taking advantage of it.
Find Cinemark IMAX locations by clicking below.
All images courtesy of IMAX.