117-558: Train: City Loop train to Parliament Station. IMAX Melbourne is an IMAX movie theatre in Carlton , Melbourne , Australia. It is the largest IMAX theatre in the southern hemisphere, and the second largest in the world. It is owned and operated by Museums Victoria and is located eight-storeys beneath the Melbourne Museum . It features IMAX's dual laser projector, as well as an IMAX 15/70 film projector. Initial plans for
234-413: A compressed air "puffer" to accelerate the film, and put a cylindrical lens in the projector's "aperture block". The rolling loop mechanism is used to move the film in projectors and cameras; the sprockets in the film are only used for registration as the film is too large to be moved with sprockets at the necessary speeds for projection and filming without damage. The projector uses a vacuum to pull
351-412: A felt or brush-like material that wipes dust off the lens as it moves up or down. The projector uses a vacuum to keep the film flat and oriented correctly for projection. The shutter of an IMAX projector is also kept open for longer than a 35 mm projector shutter to increase image brightness. IMAX projectors are pin -stabilized; this means that four registration pins engage the perforations at
468-603: A megaplex . The difference between a multiplex and a megaplex is related to the number of screens, but the dividing line is not well-defined. Some say that 16 screens and stadium seating make a megaplex, while others say that at least 24 screens are required. Megaplex theaters may have stadium seating or normal seating, and may have other amenities often not found at smaller movie theaters; multiplex theatres often feature regular seating. The Kinepolis - Madrid Ciudad de la Imagen [ es ] megaplex in Spain, owned by
585-524: A seating capacity of 6,000. Studio 28 closed in November 2008. By 1994, building of multiplexes with 14-24 screens with 2,500 to 3,500 seats was the norm. The expansion of multiplexes also concentrated the market with the top ten exhibitors controlling 47% of the nation's screens compared to 27% in 1986. The AMC Grand 24 opened in Dallas, Texas , on May 19, 1995, as the first 24-screen megaplex built from
702-560: A 1.43:1 aspect ratio. The MPX projectors were solely used to retrofit existing multiplex auditoriums, losing much of the quality of the GT experience. Later came the introduction of the IMAX Digital 2K and IMAX with Laser 4K in 2008 and 2014 respectively, still limited in respect to the 70 megapixels of equivalent resolution of the original 15/70 film. Both technologies are purely digital and suitable to retrofit existing theaters. Since 2018,
819-847: A Barco DP4K-32B 4K projection system in 2013), the Omni-Theatre at Science Centre Singapore , the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung , Taiwan (which both had their original IMAX Dome 1570 projection systems installed respectively in 1987 and 1985 replaced with Evans & Sutherland Digistar 5 8K digital systems in 2015), and the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City , New Jersey , which replaced its IMAX Dome 1570 projection system from 1993 (when built
936-562: A ballroom. In about 1915 two adjacent theatres in Moncton, New Brunswick , under the same ownership were converted to share a single entrance on Main Street. After patrons entered the door, there were separate ticket booths for each theatre, and different programs were shown. The arrangement was so unusual that it was featured by Robert Ripley in his Believe It or Not! comic strip. Before multiplexes, some cinemas did show different films at
1053-1213: A common box office. The main screen remained the Patricia Theatre and the Patricia Annex became known as the Little Patricia. In December 1947 Nat Taylor, the operator of the Elgin Theatre in Ottawa, Canada, opened a smaller second theater ("Little Elgin") next door to his first theater. It was not until 1957, however, that Taylor decided to run different movies in each theater, when he became annoyed at having to replace films that were still making money with new releases. Taylor opened dual-screen theaters in 1962 in Place Ville Marie in Montreal, Quebec , and at Yorkdale Plaza in Toronto, Ontario , in 1964. Also in late 1947, but in Havana, Cuba,
1170-474: A contract to develop and manufacture a fisheye lens projection system optimized to project an image onto a dome instead of a flat screen. The dome system, which the San Diego Hall of Science called "Omnimax", uses films shot with a camera equipped with a fisheye lens that squeezes a highly distorted anamorphic 180° field of view onto the 65 mm IMAX film. The lens is aligned below the center of
1287-472: A decoding method such as DTS . The new generation of IMAX with Laser Projectors use IMAX 12-channel sound while 15/70 and Xenon Projectors use IMAX 6-channel. Like conventional theatres, IMAX theatres place speakers both directly behind the acoustically transparent screen, and around the theatre to create a "surround sound" effect. IMAX also provides a "top center" speaker in addition to the centre speaker found in conventional theatres. This extra channel allows
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#17327727570821404-622: A digital projection system, which it has not given a distinct name or brand, designed for multiplex theatres with screens no wider than 21.3 m (70 ft). All IMAX projectors, except the standard GT system, can project 3D images . GT 3D projectors require two separate lamps and polarized projection optics. The digital cinema IMAX projection system, debuted in 2008, is designed for use with shorter 1.89:1 aspect ratio screens. The system uses two 2K projectors that can present either 2D or 3D content in DCI or IMAX Digital Format (IDF; which in itself
1521-607: A former eight-story Cadillac dealership building on Van Ness Avenue at O'Farrell Street. It opened on 10 July 1998, as the AMC 1000 Van Ness with 3,146 seats listed. The largest megaplex in the Southern Hemisphere is the 26-screen Marion MEGAPLEX in Adelaide , South Australia . The megaplex was originally a 30-screen megaplex branded as Greater Union but was modified to accommodate Gold Class and V-Max screens and
1638-415: A goal to deploy the first four units in the next two years. Christopher Nolan and Jordan Peele are among a group of advisors, made up of filmmakers and cinematographers, assisting in identifying new specs and features for the prototype development phase. In a May 2024 interview with Collider , IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond revealed that there will be four new identical cameras that will be 30% quieter than
1755-521: A half-pixel offset, using super-resolution imaging , which makes the perceived resolution greater than 4K. In-theater cameras and microphones are used to automatically calibrate the projectors and sound system between showings. For 3D presentations, one projector is used to display the image for each eye, while 2D presentations use the superimposed images to allow for a brighter image. For 3D presentations, IMAX with Laser systems use dichroic filter glasses, similar to those used by Dolby 3D , as opposed to
1872-461: A key patent filed on January 16, 1970, was assigned under the original name Multiscreen Corporation, Limited. IMAX Chief Administration Officer Mary Ruby was quoted as saying, "Although many people may think 'IMAX' is an acronym , it is, in fact, a made-up word." Tiger Child , the first IMAX film, was demonstrated at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan . The first permanent IMAX installation was built at
1989-468: A larger national movement to "grow retail spaces ever bigger." On December 13, 1996, AMC Ontario Mills 30, a 30-screen theater, opened in Ontario, California , and became the theater with the most screens in the world. This was eventually tied by other AMC 30-screen theaters. During the 1980s and 1990s, AMC Theatres was at the forefront of a massive boom in multiplex and megaplex construction across
2106-400: A lot of other multiplexes are being set up, but so far none of them have surpassed Pathé ArenA's capacity. Multiplexes ( multicines ) are very popular in Spain and they can be found in or close to most cities, displacing the traditional single-screen theaters. Many middle-sized and large cities have several of them, and they are also common in malls . The average number of screens per theater
2223-493: A much harder time finding a broad theatrical audience in earlier eras, such as the 1999 hit Being John Malkovich . However, after the turn of the 21st century, as multiplex and megaplex owners came to realize they could screen large-budget blockbuster films all day by staggering showtimes across multiple screens, movie studios jumped onto the blockbuster bandwagon and shifted their film slates towards blockbuster films based on existing media franchises . On 17 September 1998,
2340-460: A nine-screen multiplex in the Duna plaza run by Village Roadshow and US owned InterCom, that both opened in November 1996. In India , the mushrooming of multiplexes started since the mid-1990s. Cinema chains such as PVR INOX , Mukta A2 Cinemas , Miraj Cinemas , Asian Cinemas , Cinepolis , MovieTime Cinemas , AGS Cinemas , MovieMAX, Rajhans Multiplex and Wave Cinemas operate multiplexes across
2457-610: A pressure of about 25 atmospheres (367 psi (2,530 kPa)). Because of this, projectionists are required to wear protective body armor when changing or handling the lamp in case it breaks (e.g., due to a drop to the floor) because of the danger from flying quartz shards propelled by the high pressure of the xenon gas within; this applies to all projection xenon lamps. An IMAX xenon lamp runs on DC power, lasts for 1,000 hours and requires its own pump and water cooler. The projector's optics also require compressed air cooling. An IMAX projector weighs up to 1.8 tonnes (2 short tons ) and
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#17327727570822574-545: A quarter of those having the capability to show 70mm film at the resolution of the large format as originally conceived. The IMAX cinema process increases the image resolution by using a larger film frame; in relative terms, a frame of IMAX format film has three times the theoretical horizontal resolution of a frame of 35 mm film . To achieve such increased image resolution, which IMAX estimates at approximately 12,000 lines (6,000 line pair modulations) of horizontal resolution (18K), 65 mm film stock passes horizontally through
2691-413: A result of this hasty development process. Among the few that were able to avoid bankruptcy were AMC Theatres and Cinemark Theatres . The boom in new screens in the U.S. in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to multiple changes to Hollywood's distribution model. During the 1990s, American film studios experimented with distributing quirky indie films and art films to megaplexes which would have had
2808-612: A screen measuring 693 square meters 31.2 by 22.2 m (102 by 73 ft) within The Ribbon building, after years of extensive redevelopment, making it the world's third-largest screen. In the late-1960s, the San Diego Hall of Science (later known as the San Diego Space and Science Foundation) began searching North America for a large-format film system to project on the dome of their planned 23.16 m (76.0 ft) tilted dome planetarium . The standard IMAX projector
2925-548: A screening of the film Everest . At the time of opening, the screen was 31mx23m. In 2013, the cinema closed in order to receive a new IMAX digital xenon system that was installed alongside the existing 15/70 projector, as well as to receive an upgraded screen. In 2015, the cinema was closed yet again in order to replace the IMAX digital xenon system with a new upgraded IMAX dual laser projection system, as well as an upgraded IMAX 12 Channel sound system. In order to make room for
3042-560: A tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1 ) and steep stadium seating , with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations. Graeme Ferguson , Roman Kroitor , Robert Kerr , and William C. Shaw were the co-founders of what would be named the IMAX Corporation (founded in September 1967 as Multiscreen Corporation, Ltd.), and they developed the first IMAX cinema projection standards in
3159-544: Is IMAX Sydney . Compared to IMAX Sydney, IMAX Melbourne is larger in size, while also featuring a 15/70 projector, unlike IMAX Sydney. IMAX currently has plans to open up to 40 more theatres in Australia, with one of those locations planned to be in Canberra . IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras , film formats , film projectors , and theaters known for having very large screens with
3276-512: Is Village Rentis , that features 18 mainstream screens, two comfort (special type of a mainstream screen, better seating and less auditorium), three RealD 3D screens and one summer screen. In total it features 21 screens. Hungary's first multiplex, the Corvin Budapest Film Palace, opened in September 1996 followed shortly after by Cineplex Odeon 's first overseas venture, the six-screen Cinpelex Odeon Polus Center, and
3393-428: Is a movie theater complex with multiple screens or auditoriums within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an extension or expansion of the building. The largest of these complexes can sit thousands of people and are sometimes referred to as
3510-463: Is a superset of DCI). IDF initially used 2K-resolution Christie xenon projectors, with a Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing (DLP) engine, but in 2012 IMAX announced that they would be switching to Barco as their primary supplier. The two 2K images are projected superimposed on each other with a half-pixel offset, using super-resolution imaging to increase the perceived resolution to approximately 2.9K. For 3D presentations, one projector
3627-423: Is fed through the projector horizontally, and the film is drawn from the inner circumference of the platter, not from the outer circumference like in conventional film reels. A system is in place to keep the film in the outer circumference from flying outwards due to centrifugal force while the platter is spinning. IMAX film is shipped to theaters in several small reels that are spliced into one continuous length that
IMAX Melbourne - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-703: Is less than half. Due to protests, the City of Spokane officials decided to work with the IMAX Corporation to demolish the theatre, under the condition they renovate the former US Pavilion itself into IMAX's first permanent outdoor giant-screen theatre. The plan was to use material on the inside of the structure similar to that used when first constructed. However, it was expected to last only five years, due to weather conditions destroying previous materials. Concept art has been released in videos featured on Spokane's renovation site, and its budget revealed that seating
3861-414: Is over 178 cm (5.8 ft) tall and 195 cm (6.4 ft) long. The projector is raised and locked into position before each screening. IMAX Corporation has released four projector types that use its 15-perforation, 70 mm film format: GT (Grand Theatre), GT 3D (dual rotor), SR (Small Rotor), and MPX , which was designed for retrofitted theatres. In July 2008, the company introduced
3978-653: Is planned for more than 2,000. The first permanent IMAX Dome installation, the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theatre at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center , opened in San Diego 's Balboa Park in 1973. It doubles as a planetarium theater. The first permanent IMAX 3D theatre was built in Vancouver , British Columbia, for Transitions at Expo '86 , and was in use until September 30, 2009. It
4095-623: Is then wound into a platter, a process that may take hours to complete. Films may be several kilometers in length: Avatar , which was 2:45 hours in duration, was close to 16 km (9.9 mi) long. Platters are handled using special forklifts. IMAX platters range from 1.2 to 1.83 m (3.9 to 6.0 ft) diameter to accommodate 1 to 2.75 hours of film. Platters with a 2.5 hour feature film weigh 250 kg (550 lb). IMAX uses ESTAR-based print film in their 15/70 rolling-loop film projection systems. ESTAR-based print film provides greater precision. The chemical development process does not change
4212-402: Is used to display the image for each eye, while 2D presentations use the superimposed images to allow for a brighter 75 cd/m image. The Digital IMAX projection system includes a proprietary IMAX Image Enhancer that modifies the output of the digital media server based on feedback from cameras and microphones in the auditorium, and maintains alignment with sub-pixel accuracy. Mainly because
4329-519: The Cinerama process in the mid-1950s. By the early 1990s, a separate DTS -based 6-track digital sound system was used, similarly locked to the projector by a SMPTE time code synchronization apparatus, the audio played off a series of proprietarily encoded CD-ROM discs. In the late 1990s, IMAX upgraded this system to use a hard drive that carries a single uncompressed audio file. These are converted directly to analogue rather than processed through
4446-693: The Cinesphere theatre at Ontario Place in Toronto. It debuted in May 1971, showing the film North of Superior . The installation remained in place during Ontario Place's hiatus for redevelopment. The Cinesphere was renovated while Ontario Place was closed and re-opened on November 3, 2017, with IMAX 70 mm and IMAX with laser illumination. During Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington , an IMAX screen that measured 27 by 20 metres (89 ft × 66 ft)
4563-525: The Digital Cinema Initiatives spec, a contrast ratio "double" that of IMAX 15/70 mm film projection and "higher" than the 2,500:1 contrast ratio of IMAX's xenon lamp-based projection systems, and displaying the full Rec. 2020 color gamut. The system also features a new 12-channel surround sound system, which adds an additional speaker on either side of the theater as well as four new overhead speakers. While still not matching
4680-684: The film stock . It is called the 15/70 format . They can be purpose-built theaters and dome theaters , and many installations of this type limit themselves to a projection of high quality, short documentaries. The dedicated buildings and projectors required high construction and maintenance costs, necessitating several compromises in the following years. To reduce costs, the IMAX SR and MPX systems were introduced in 1998 and 2004, respectively, to make IMAX available to multiplex and existing theaters. The SR system featured slightly smaller screens than GT theatres, though still in purpose-built auditoriums with
4797-681: The linear polarization glasses used in Digital IMAX theaters. On April 24, 2018, IMAX announced that they would begin rolling out a new single-unit version of their laser projector system later that year, with this iteration designed to replace the IMAX Xenon digital projection system for 1.89:1 screens. IMAX theatres are described as either "Classic Design" (purpose-built structures), or "Multiplex Design" (retrofitted auditoriums). Classic IMAX theatre construction differs significantly from conventional theatres. The increased resolution lets
IMAX Melbourne - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-501: The "AmStar 14". This theatre is now the Studio Movie Grill Northwest Highway as of 2013 . AMC has since opened many megaplexes with up to 30 screens, beginning with AMC Ontario Mills 30, which was billed by AMC in its advertising as the "world's largest theater" when it opened on December 13, 1996. Three months after AMC Ontario Mills 30 opened, Edwards Theaters opened their largest theater across
5031-491: The "twilight of his prolific career at AMC", began a transition from his traditional pattern of squeezing "as many screens as possible ... into small multiplexes" to building megaplexes which were truly gigantic in scale: a "new supersized movie house for a supersized nation". This coincided with the development of modern big-box stores and warehouse clubs in the United States, and in retrospect can be seen as part of
5148-481: The 18-screen Cineplex , co-founded by Nat Taylor in Toronto's Eaton Centre , became the world's largest multitheatre complex under one roof. It was expanded to 21 screens by at least 1981. In November 1988, Kinepolis Brussels , was opened by Kinepolis , the Belgian chain, with 25 screens and 7,600 seats, and is often credited as being the first "megaplex". Meanwhile, during the 1980s, an elderly Durwood, in
5265-565: The 18-screen UCI New York City Center multiplex was opened in Barra da Tijuca , Rio de Janeiro to become the largest in Brazil. Canada's largest movie theaters over the years have been located in Toronto . As mentioned above the 18- (later 21-) screen Cineplex was the movie theater with the most screens in the world until the late 1980s, but remained the largest movie theater in Canada until it
5382-559: The 1960s and 1970s are now regarded as relatively small by 21st century standards. According to Melnick and Fuchs, although Durwood was technically not the first person to build a multi-auditorium movie theater, he was "the man perhaps most responsible for driving the industry into 'splitsville'". In 1965 Martin's Westgate Cinemas became one of the first indoor two-screen theaters in Atlanta, Georgia. Located in East Point, Georgia , it
5499-445: The 2000s) continue to call it "Omnimax". IMAX Dome theatres are used in theme parks and many North American museums, particularly those with a scientific focus, where the technical aspects of the system may be highlighted as part of the attraction. The projection room is often windowed to allow public viewing of the equipment in operation, and it is often accompanied by informational placards like other exhibits. For some theaters, before
5616-477: The Arri Alexa IMAX on Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). For Transformers: The Last Knight , two ARRI Alexa IMAX cameras were combined in a rig to provide native 3D, with the film containing 98% of IMAX footage. In September 2020, IMAX launched the "Filmed for IMAX" program, which certifies high-quality digital cameras that can be used to create IMAX-format films. As
5733-798: The Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (shot with the Sony CineAlta Venice), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (shot with the Red V-Raptor), The Marvels (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF) and Dune: Part Two (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF). The IMAX format is generically called "15/70" film, the name referring to the 15 sprocket holes or perforations per frame. The film's bulk and weight require horizontal platters, rather than conventional vertically mounted film reels. IMAX film
5850-574: The Belgian Kinepolis Group, is the largest movie theater in the world, with 25 screens and a seating capacity of 9,200, including one 996-seat auditorium. The question of who was the inventor of the multiplex is "one of the longest-running debates in movie theater history." In a 2004 book, Ross Melnick and Andreas Fuchs identified five leading candidates: James Edwards, Sumner Redstone , Stanley Durwood , Charles Porter, and Nat Taylor . In 1915, exhibitor Charles Porter opened
5967-906: The Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theatre at Discovery Place , Charlotte, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama's McWane Science Center ; US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama; the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal ; the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio; the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario; and Science World in Vancouver, British Columbia. Alternatively,
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#17327727570826084-988: The Chocolate Factory at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry . The largest screen in North America is at the Science World in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has a dome screen 27 metres (89 ft) in size. Due to the age of the IMAX Dome format as well as its entirely analogue nature, some theatres may opt to replace their existing IMAX Dome systems with newer, more versatile digital systems. Examples of former IMAX Dome theatres that have had their IMAX equipment replaced with newer equipment include Tietomaa Science Centre in Oulu , Finland (which replaced its IMAX 8/70 equipment from 1988 with
6201-528: The Duplex Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, the first known instance of a dual-auditorium movie theater. It had twin 750-seat auditoriums in a single building, sharing a common box office and entrance. The Duplex Theatre's history is poorly documented and it is unknown why Porter built his theater that way, though it was apparently a bit too advanced for its time. It closed in 1922 and was remodeled into
6318-462: The Duplex movie theater was built to share the vestibule and ancillary facilities with the previously existing Rex Cinema (open since 1938); they were both designed by the same architect, Luis Bonich. The programming was coordinated, so that one of them showed documentary and news reels. while the other was showing feature films. They were in use at least until the 1990s. In 1963 AMC Theatres opened
6435-436: The IMAX movie camera, 15 perforations at a time. At 24 frames per second, this means that the film moves through the camera at 102.7 meters (337 ft) per minute (just over 6 km/h). In a conventional 65 mm camera, the film passes vertically through the camera, five perforations at a time, or 34 meters (112 ft) per minute. In comparison, in a conventional 35 mm camera, 35 mm film passes vertically through
6552-480: The Laser system has been employed to retrofit full dome installations, with limited results due to the large area of a dome screen. The single-projector/single-camera system they eventually settled upon was designed and built by Shaw based upon a novel "Rolling Loop" film-transport technology purchased from Peter Ronald Wright Jones, a machine shop worker from Brisbane, Australia. Film projectors do not continuously flow
6669-783: The Leonberg IMAX opened in 2021, the largest operating IMAX screen was in IMAX Melbourne , located within the Melbourne Museum in Melbourne , Australia, measuring 32 m × 23 m (105 ft × 75 ft). Until its demolition in 2016, the world's largest IMAX screen had been in IMAX Sydney in Darling Harbour , Sydney , Australia, measuring 35.72 m × 29.57 m (117.2 ft × 97.0 ft). It reopened on 12 October 2023, with
6786-768: The Red Ranger Monstro and Komodo), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF), The Battle at Lake Changjin and The Battle at Lake Changjin II (shot with the Red Ranger Monstro), Eternals (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (shot with Panavision Millennium DXL2), Thor: Love and Thunder (shot with
6903-688: The UK was the ABC Cinema in Lothian Road , Edinburgh which opened 29 November 1969. The Regal Twins were converted in 1972 to a five screen complex (Studios 1 to 5) by Star Group, as the first five-cinema complex in Britain. In 1985, AMC Cinemas opened a ten-screen cinema at The Point in Milton Keynes . This was AMC's first multiplex outside of the United States and saw a turnaround in
7020-624: The United States, only 10% of the 16,712 indoor movie theaters in 1981 had more than one screen, with 80% of the 10% only having two screens. The largest had 7 screens. In 1982, the 14-screen Cineplex in the Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles became the country's largest upon opening. The Beverly Center Cinemas closed in June 2010. Cineplex joined with Universal Studios to build an 18-screen multiplex in Universal City, California (now part of Universal CityWalk Hollywood ), which opened July 4, 1987. In December 1988, Studio 28 in Grand Rapids, Michigan , expanded from 12 to 20 screens with
7137-429: The United States. From 1988 to 2000, the number of screens in the United States exploded from roughly 23,000 to 37,000. By the end of 1997, the United States was home to 149 megaplexes with over 2,800 screens. The newer venues, especially the megaplexes, often wiped out smaller theaters and led to market consolidation. Aging single-screen movie palaces in congested downtown areas simply could not compete against
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#17327727570827254-439: The audience be much closer to the screen. Typically all rows are within one screen height – conventional theatre seating runs 8 to 12-screen heights. Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep angle (up to 30° in some domed theatres) so that the audience is facing the screen directly. The world's largest IMAX screen currently stands in Leonberg near Stuttgart , Germany and measures 38 by 22 m (125 by 72 ft). Until
7371-433: The camera, at four (smaller) perforations at a time, which translates to 27.4 meters (90 ft) per minute. In the Todd-AO 70 mm-format of widescreen cinema, the image area of a 65 mm film-frame is 48.5 mm × 22.1 mm (1.91 in × 0.87 in); in the IMAX-format of widescreen cinema, the film-frame dimensions are 69.6 mm × 48.5 mm (2.74 in × 1.91 in). To match
7488-453: The company full circle. After that, some more were closed or sold to Empire Theatres . AMC exited Canada by closing the AMC Interchange 30 in 2014. France's largest movie theaters are: 27-screen UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles (3,913 seats) in Paris , 23-screen Kinépolis - Château du Cinéma in Lomme (7,286 seats), 22-screen UGC Ciné Cité Strasbourg (5,275 seats) and 20-screen MK2 Bibliothèque in Paris (3,500 seats). Greece' s largest multiplex
7605-430: The corners of the projected frame to ensure perfect alignment. Shaw added cam -controlled arms to decelerate each frame to eliminate the microscopic shaking as the frame "settled" onto the registration pins. The projector's shutter is open around 20% longer than in conventional equipment, and the light source is brighter. The xenon short-arc lamps are made with a thin envelope of fused quartz and contain xenon gas at
7722-462: The country also reduced the importance of London from a revenue standpoint. Non-multiplex cinemas are now rare in the UK. In July 2000, Star City, Birmingham opened with a 30-screen Warner Village Cinemas (now a 25-screen Vue Cinemas with 5,079 seats), at the time the largest cinema in Europe. The first triplex in the United States was created with the addition of a third screen to the Cheri theater in Boston in June 1967 owned by Ben Sack. In
7839-507: The country. The largest multiplex in India is the 16-screen multiplex Mayajaal in Chennai . The first multiplex in Japan was built by Warner Bros. in 1993 but the multiplexes were outside Japan's nine largest cities until Shochiku built Cinema World to the west of Tokyo in 1995. By 2000, multiplexes accounted for 44% of the market with the number of screens in Japan increasing rapidly from less than 2,000 in 1998 to nearly 3,000 in 2001. The expansion in screens and multiplexes also reduced
7956-503: The decline of the UK cinema industry. Cannon followed it with an eight-screen cinema in Salford Quays in 1986. The success of the cinema at Milton Keynes led to further expansion by AMC in the UK to the MetroCentre in Gateshead and then to Dudley, Telford, Warrington and by royal appointment to London, before it eventually sold its UK division to a joint venture which it had formed with United Artists and Cinema International Corporation , which later became UCI Cinemas in 1989. By
8073-662: The derogatory name "LieMAX", particularly because the company still marketed the new screens similarly to the old ones, without making the major differences clear to the public, going so far as to market the smallest "IMAX" screen, having 10 times less area, similarly to the largest while persisting with the same brand name. Since 2002, some feature films have been converted into IMAX format for displaying in IMAX theatres, and some have also been (partially) shot in IMAX. By late 2017, 1,302 IMAX theatre systems were installed in 1,203 commercial multiplexes, 13 commercial destinations, and 86 institutional settings in 75 countries, with less than
8190-554: The dome may be lowered and raised as needed, such as at the Science Museum of Minnesota , and the former installation at the Canadian Museum of History (where it shared an auditorium with a standard IMAX screen, all replaced with a Barco CINE+ digital theatre system in 2016). The entire dome could be raised to show flat-screen features, and repositioned for immersive features. While the majority of museum installations focus on educational and documentary films, on special occasions entertainment films are also shown, such as Charlie and
8307-404: The end of 1992, the 5 major exhibitors (UCI, MGM , Warner , National Amusements and Odeon Cinemas ) had built 525 multiplex screens in the last eight years in the UK, with cinema admissions increasing from an all-time low of 54 million in 1984 to over 100 million. The increase in multiplexes led to 77% of the UK's screens being owned by the 5 major exhibitors. The increase in multiplexes around
8424-643: The end of 2007 to over 1,000 screens by the end of 2015. As of September 2017 , there were 1,302 IMAX theatres located in 75 countries, of which 1,203 were in commercial multiplexes. The switch to digital projection came at a steep cost in image quality, with 2K projectors having roughly an order of magnitude less resolution than traditional IMAX film projectors. Maintaining the same 7-story screen size would only make this loss more noticeable, so many new theaters were instead built with significantly smaller screens. These newer theaters with much lower resolution and much smaller screens soon began to be referred to by
8541-458: The existing cameras. The Wall Street Journal revealed that the new cameras will be made out of carbon fiber and titanium, and they will feature a five inch color display along with wireless capability. In 2011, IMAX announced a 4K 3D digital camera. The camera was developed alongside Vision Research and AbelCine, integrating two Phantom 65 engines. A prototype camera was used for the documentary Born to be Wild , in which approximately 10% of
8658-458: The film in front of the bulb, but instead "stutter" the film travel so that each frame can be illuminated in a momentarily-paused still image. This requires a mechanical apparatus to buffer the jerky travel of the film strip. The older technology of running 70 mm film vertically through the projector used only five sprocket perforations on the sides of each frame; however, the IMAX method used fifteen perforations per frame. The previous mechanism
8775-430: The film into contact with this lens. Thus the " field flattener " flattens the image field. The lens is twice the height of the film and connects to a pneumatic piston so it can be moved up or down while the projector is running. This way, if a piece of dust comes off the film and sticks to the lens, the projectionist can switch to a clean portion of the lens at the push of a button. The lens also has "wiper bars" made of
8892-514: The film on 15/70. The cinema is located eight-storeys beneath the Melbourne Museum, its screen is currently the largest in Australia, and the second largest in the world (32mx23m). The cinema seats 461 people, including 25 VIP seats. The cinema features an IMAX 12 Channel Digital sound system as well as one IMAX dual laser projector and one IMAX GT3D 15/70 film projector. Currently, there is only one other IMAX theatre in Australia, which
9009-539: The film. A feature film platter can cost US$ 36,000 to print. The camera negative is actually 65 mm film stock, but it runs horizontally and with 15 perforations per frame. The camera, like the projector, has a vacuum system; this makes the camera noisy, forbidding the sync-sound recording of quiet scenes. The camera has enough film for three minutes of shooting. The large frame of the film also imposes optical limitations such as an extremely shallow depth of field when shooting with an open aperture. To use more of
9126-409: The finished film was shot with the system. The company has said they have no intention of replacing the higher resolution film cameras with the new digital camera, but the latter can be used in scenes that require a lightweight or relatively small 3D camera. While IMAX has completed the production camera and has placed it in service on several films, they have no plans to produce an IMAX film solely with
9243-534: The first installation occurring at the Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto . The system allows digital projection of the 1.43:1 aspect ratio surface of a traditional IMAX screen, but can also be used on other screens such as the 1.90:1-aspect-ratio TCL Chinese Theater . The system replaces the xenon arc lamp of a traditional digital projector with a laser light source, and is capable of 60 fps with "50 percent greater" brightness than
9360-405: The frame, and most of the bottom half of the circular field falls beyond the edge of the film. The part of the field that would fall below the edge of the dome is masked. When filming, the camera is aimed upward at an angle that matches the tilt of the dome. When projected through a matching fisheye lens onto a dome, the original panoramic view is recreated. Omnimax wraps 180° horizontally, 100° above
9477-632: The ground up in the United States and the largest theater complex in the U.S. A 21-screen Edwards Theater opened at the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, California , the same year. After a lease renewal dispute with the property owner, the AMC Grand 24 closed in November 2010. The building has been divided and reopened in 2012 as a Toby Keith –owned nightclub and a 14-screen first-run movie theater operated by Southern Theatres as
9594-573: The horizon and 22° below the horizon for a viewer at the center of the dome. Omnimax premiered in 1973, showing Voyage to the Outer Planets (produced by Graphic Films) and Garden Isle (by Roger Tilton Films) on a double bill. Later in the 70s a successful Omnimax center was built at Caesars Palace , Las Vegas , and ran strongly through the 80s and 90s, eventually being closed and rebuilt. IMAX has since renamed its Omnimax system "IMAX Dome", but some theaters (primarily those opened before
9711-467: The image area, IMAX film does not include an embedded soundtrack. Instead, the IMAX system specifies a separate six-channel 35 mm (1.4 in) magnetic film, recorded and played back on a film follower locked to picture, just as Vitaphone had been (utilizing 16-inch 33 1/3 RPM electrical transcription discs ) in the early 20th century, and was the same technology used to provide the 7-channel soundtrack accompanying films photographed and exhibited in
9828-458: The late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada . IMAX GT is the premium large format. The digital format uses dual laser projectors, which can show 1.43 digital content when combined with a 1.43 screen. The film format uses very large screens of 18 by 24 metres (59 by 79 feet) and, unlike most conventional film projectors, the film runs horizontally so that the image width can be greater than the width of
9945-477: The name IMAX originated: ... the incorporation date [of the company was] September 1967. ... [The name change] came a year or two later. We first called the company Multiscreen Corporation because that, in fact, was what people knew us as. ... After about a year, our attorney informed us that we could never copyright or trademark Multivision. It was too generic. It was a descriptive word. The words that you can copyright are words like Kleenex or Xerox or Coca-Cola. If
10062-468: The name is descriptive, you can't trademark it so you have to make up a word. So we were sitting at lunch one day in a Hungarian restaurant in Montreal and we worked out a name on a placemat on which we wrote all the possible names we could think of. We kept working with the idea of maximum image. We turned it around and came up with IMAX. The name change actually happened more than two years later, because
10179-551: The new digital system. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the first feature film partially filmed with the Phantom 65 IMAX 3D camera. In 2015, IMAX announced a 2D digital camera that was developed alongside Arri , the camera being based on the latter company's Arri Alexa 65 technology. The first production to use the camera was Captain America: Civil War . The Russo brothers have stated that they solely used
10296-413: The new dual laser projectors, the 15/70 projector was removed and put into storage. In 2017, after negotiations with the IMAX Corporation, the 15/70 projector was reinstalled alongside the dual laser projectors for the release of Dunkirk . With the release of Oppenheimer in 2023, IMAX Melbourne was one of only 30 cinemas in the world, and the only location in the southern hemisphere able to project
10413-433: The new suburban megaplexes with their profusion of convenient choices (in terms of films and showtimes), gigantic screens, stadium seating, armrest cup holders, video arcades, spacious parking lots, and state-of-the-art projection and surround sound technology. In some areas, "megaplexes became not just another option for moviegoers, but soon the only one, having driven all other theaters out of business". From 1995 to 2004,
10530-416: The problem with stadium-size movie theaters is that they share the same flawed business model as stadiums : high fixed operating costs, combined with the fact that very few films in any given year can actually fill all those seats. Average occupancy is around 10-15%—meaning that the majority of films are being shown to empty seats. Nearly all major U.S. movie theater companies ultimately went bankrupt as
10647-591: The release of The Dark Knight Rises in July 2012. In April 2012, IMAX began testing a new 4K laser projection system, based on patents licensed from Eastman Kodak . Like the 3D film and digital systems, it used two projectors, but it improved over the smaller digital screens by retaining the traditional IMAX aspect ratio and let films be shown on screens 36 m (118 ft) wide or more. In December 2014, IMAX began rolling out its new dual 4K laser projector system, dubbed "IMAX with Laser" and known as IMAX GT, with
10764-584: The reliance on the grosses from the nine key cities, with over half of a film's Japanese gross now coming from outside those markets. In the Netherlands there weren't many multiplexes until the millennial change. In April 2000 Pathé ArenA opened its doors in the ArenAPoort area in Amsterdam . It is the largest multiplex in the Netherlands and features 14 screens and 3250 seats in total. Nowadays
10881-556: The same feature movie, one would also offer a double bill . It did not convert to showing different movies on both screens until some time after Nat Taylor (see below). On February 25, 1940, the Patricia Theater in Aiken, South Carolina made news by becoming what is believed to be the first two-screen theater in the United States showing different movies when operator H. Bert Ram added a screen to an adjoining building and shared
10998-634: The same film. In 1965, the first triplex was opened in Burnaby , Canada by Taylor Twentieth Century Theaters. AMC followed up on the Parkway Twin with a four-screen theater in Kansas City, the Metro Plaza, in 1966 and a six-screen theater in 1969. Durwood's insight was that one box office and one concession stand could easily serve two (or more) attached auditoriums. Another AMC innovation
11115-750: The same time in one auditorium, such as in Cairo , Egypt, reported in 1926. In 1930, the Regal Twins in Manchester , England became the world's first multiplex followed by Studio 1 and 2 in Oxford Street in London in 1936. In 1937 James Edwards twinned his Alhambra Theater in the Los Angeles area by converting an adjacent storefront into a second "annex" screen. While both screens would show
11232-432: The scope of certified cameras expands, it will be easier for filmmakers to create films to meet the projection needs of the IMAX giant screen theater. Top Gun: Maverick (shot with the Sony CineAlta Venice) and Dune (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF) were among the first films that used IMAX-certified cameras. Other films between 2021 and 2023 that captured with this program are The Suicide Squad (shot with
11349-785: The show begins, the screen can be backlit to show the speakers and girders behind it. The screen may be a permanent fixture, such as at the Museum of Science and Industry ( Henry Crown Space Center ) in Chicago, Illinois; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History ; the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the St. Louis Science Center ; Boston's Museum of Science ; Richmond's Science Museum of Virginia ;
11466-500: The size or shape of ESTAR print film, and IMAX's pin registration system ( especially that of the camera mechanism ) does not tolerate either sprocket -hole or film-thickness variations, but the film can still swell or shrink under varying temperature and humidity. This requires projection booths to be kept at a temperature of between 20 and 23.8 °C and a humidity of 50%. The film is too large to be moved using its sprockets, so they are instead used for registration, to aid in aligning
11583-416: The sound mix engineers to take advantage of the screen's greater height. Transporting the large film stock through the optical system presented challenges for both the camera and the projector. Conventional 70 mm systems were not steady enough for the 586× magnification. On the projector side, William Shaw adapted an Australian patent (no. 291,375) for film transport called the "rolling loop" by adding
11700-427: The standard image resolution of the moving image produced with the film-speed of 24 frames per second , an IMAX film requires three times the length of (negative) film stock required for a 65 mm film of comparable scope and cinematic technique . In March 2022, IMAX announced a new initiative in cooperation with Kodak , Panavision , and FotoKem to develop "a new fleet of next generation IMAX film cameras", with
11817-693: The street with 22 screens, the Edwards Ontario Palace 22. If the two adjacent parking lots were counted as one, this meant the city of Ontario, California had 52 screens on one parking lot, more than anywhere else in the United States. The construction of these two adjacent megaplexes in the Inland Empire was the culmination of a "bitter lifelong rivalry" between the elderly chief executives of these two leading movie theater operators: AMC's Stanley Durwood (who died in 1999) and Edwards Theaters's James Edwards (who died in 1997). Edwards
11934-490: The system facilitates inexpensive distribution of IMAX features, the company announced in February 2012 that they were renovating specially selected locations around the world to present both 70 mm analog as well as digital presentations. To do so, IMAX developed a rail system that moves the projectors in and out to accommodate either a full-frame film print or a digital-only release. These theaters were prepared in time for
12051-461: The theatre were drafted in 1994 as part of the renovation of the Melbourne Museum . Final plans for the theatre were announced in 1996, with construction scheduled to begin in May of that year. After delays, final bids for the project were solicited in September of 1996. During construction, more delays were encountered due to contaminated soil and water seepage. The cinema opened in March of 1998 with
12168-458: The theoretical resolution of traditional IMAX film, which is estimated at up to 12,000 lines of horizontal resolution on the 65 mm camera negative (12K) and approximately 6,000 on a 35 mm release print (6K), the new laser system features dual- 4K resolution projectors, each capable of displaying four times the detail of one Digital IMAX projector. Like Digital IMAX, images from the two projectors are projected superimposed on each other with
12285-406: The total number of theaters in the United States fell from 7,151 to 5,629. Multiplexes and megaplexes supposedly have two major advantages over traditional single-screen movie theaters: they can share common infrastructure and staff across multiple auditoriums, and variations in auditorium size enable them to better match capacity to demand. However, movie theater operators eventually discovered
12402-694: The two-screen Parkway Twin at the Ward Parkway Shopping Center in Kansas City , a concept which company president Stanley Durwood later claimed to have come up with in 1962, realizing he could double the revenue of a single theater "by adding a second screen and still operate with the same size staff". Also, the shopping center structure where the Parkway was located could not support a large theater, so two small theaters were built to avoid that issue, and at first both theaters played
12519-568: The world's largest cinema multiplex, Kinepolis Madrid , opened in Spain, with 25 screens and 9,200 seats, each seating between 211 and 996 people. Europes's tallest cinema multiplex is the Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom at 203 feet. Opened in 2001, it has 18 screens and seats 4,300 people. CGV Cinemas San Francisco 14, is a 14-auditorium movie theater multiplex in
12636-470: Was 5.2 in 2016. The Kinepolis - Madrid Ciudad de la Imagen megaplex has been the largest movie theater in the world since 1998, with 25 screens and a seating capacity of 9,200 including a 996-seat auditorium. Kinepolis- Valencia , built in 2001, boasts 24 screens and 8,000 seats. As noted above, the world's first multiplex, the Regal Twins , opened in Manchester in 1930. The first triplex in
12753-543: Was closed at the turn of the 21st century. In 1998, AMC expanded to Canada, building large movie theatres with as many as 24 screens before opening a 30-plex there in 1999, which is the AMC Interchange 30. Then in 2008, the 24-screen AMC Yonge Dundas 24, adjacent to the Eaton Centre, was completed. Cineplex Entertainment purchased the theater in 2012, along with several other Canadian AMC megaplexes, bringing
12870-561: Was featured in the US Pavilion (the largest structure in the expo). It became the first IMAX Theatre to not be partnered with any other brand of movie theatres. About five million visitors viewed the screen, which covered the viewer's total visual field when looking directly forward. This created a sensation of motion in most viewers, and motion sickness in some. Another IMAX 3D theatre was also built in Spokane; however, its screen size
12987-413: Was inadequate to handle this intermittent mechanical movement that was three times longer, and so Jones's invention was necessary for the novel IMAX projector method with its horizontal film feed. As it became clear that a single, large-screen image had more impact than multiple smaller ones and was a more viable product direction, Multiscreen changed its name to IMAX. Co-founder Graeme Ferguson explained how
13104-522: Was later converted into a three-screen venue after a fire partially destroyed one of the theaters. The Disney family film Those Calloways had its world premiere at the Westgate, the only film to have been so honored at that theater. In 1973, Sumner Redstone, as the head of National Amusements , was the first film exhibitor to trademark and regularly use the term "multiplex." Opening in April 1979,
13221-415: Was located at the tip of Canada Place , a Vancouver landmark. In 2008, IMAX extended its brand into traditional theaters with the introduction of Digital IMAX, a lower-cost system that uses two 2K digital projectors to project on a 1.90:1 aspect ratio screen. This lower-cost option, which allowed for the conversion of existing multiplex theater auditoriums, helped IMAX to grow from 299 screens worldwide at
13338-574: Was re-branded as Event Cinemas . The auditoriums sit on top of Westfield Marion , which is the largest shopping complex in Adelaide. Kinepolis Brussels, the first cinema to carry the Kinepolis brand, was the biggest and a pioneer in the megaplex industry when it opened in 1988. It introduced various innovations in visual, audio and conceptual aspects of cinema, such as hosting guests and special events. It now has 28 screens and 6270 seats. In 1999,
13455-540: Was the largest IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX theatre in the world) with an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 6 "True8K" digital system in 2017. In November 2018, the Hackworth IMAX dome in The Tech Museum (now The Tech Interactive ) replaced its 70 mm IMAX projector with a 4K IMAX Laser projector. It became the first digital IMAX Laser dome theater in the world. Multiplex (movie theater) A multiplex
13572-421: Was to offset the starting times of films, so that staff members who previously had downtime while films were playing at a single-auditorium theater would now be kept continuously busy servicing other auditoriums. Over the next two decades, AMC Theatres under Durwood's leadership continued to innovate as it built one multiplex after another with more screens across the United States, though its early multiplexes from
13689-485: Was unsuitable for use inside a dome because it had a 3.65 m (12.0 ft) tall lamp house on top. IMAX Corporation redesigned its system, adding an elevator to lift the projector to the center of the dome from the projection booth below. Spectra Physics designed a suitable lamphouse that took smaller, 46 cm (18 in) lamps and placed the bulb behind the lens instead of above the projector. In 1970, Ernst Leitz Canada, Ltd. (now ELCAN Optical Technologies ) won
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