IMAX and AMC to develop more IMAX-lite theaters for 2011

hmtinc on June 6, 2010 at 2:06 am

Well it sure beats Cinemarks XD Screens What a joke

John Fink on June 7, 2010 at 3:38 am

I’ve come the conclusion IMAX is now a sound system more than anything else – cool, but I don’t think we should pay more for an immersive experience, some of those new builds AMC has (Rockaway even before the IMAX and Garden State) are immersive on their own. I almost want to say – you want original the IMAX experience – sit close to the screen.

In that respect I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter anymore, with the Titan XC, EXT, RPX, and XD, not to mention Cineplex in Canada doing a system, it all irrelevant. Congrads IMAX – you cannibalized yourself, you deserved it for selling out. But I’ve been warning you about IMAX lites since the first retrofits (Buckland Hills in Manchester, CT). In that respect if it’s not in 3-D then I probably shouldn’t care. And I don’t get why IMAX theaters in new builds are the sizes of the retrofits – if your building a star attraction why not build a monster – raise the roof – do it bigger and better!?! (I’m going by the pictures of the brand new Regal Tikahtnu Commons' IMAX in Anchorage, AK)

I guess it’s like any theater, an informed customer will make the right choice. There’s a reason why I go to a certain theater over another to see a certain film: the audience, which is a factor that shouldn’t be discounted, I go to have a good experience, or if that night going is a form of meditation then I might go to a theater that isn’t crowded. I think instead of figuring out who to extract a few extra dollars with minimal construction costs from film goers – they ought to figure out how to make the experience better and more exciting. Ploys are nothing new in the history of film, but I’ve said if a theater chain could harness the power and excitement of a great film festival like Toronto they’d have movie goers coming back every night of the week and that atmosphere starts in the lobby and extends to the films, audience and customer service. A few chains get it right, but I can tell you I was a hell of a lot more excited to be in the lobby of Harkins Northfield 18 (Denver, CO) than I was to be at my local Clearview Cinemas.

moviebuff82 on June 7, 2010 at 7:54 pm

thanks for the advice john, although my dad warned me not to go to the IMAX theater in Rockaway because it’s a rip-off. When I go see a movie in rockaway in regular, i usually sit near the guardrails above the non-stadium seating aisle and right in the middle although the 35mm picture is a bit blurry than sitting all the way back. If it’s a flat film, it’s immersive. Same goes for a scope film, even though the screens at Rockaway that show scope are a bit smaller than Clearview’s.