Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro

Build as the replacement of the 6-screener Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro on “Sunshine 60 Street” which operated from 1985 until 2019, the Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro at the Grandscape Ikebukuro opened its doors on July 19, 2019 featuring 12 screens and a total capacity of 2,443 seats, with two wheelchairs in each auditorium except Screen 4.

Some of its notable features include its IMAX Laser/GT Technology theater inside Screen 12 with a screen measuring 18.9 meters high and 25.8 meters wide, making it the largest permanent theater ever in Japan. With Screen 12 being also the largest auditorium with 542 seats, a sky lounge is also setup that utilizes the space under the steps to overlook Ikebukuro. An observation lounge is also setup that anyone can use, even without a ticket. The ceiling of the sky lounge is equipped with a 31.48mx10.36m LED vision called “Motion Ceiling”, one of the largest in Japan, and images were viewed from the ground outside through the glass windows. Meanwhile outside the IMAX, the rest of the auditoriums have ranging capacities of 79-381, with Screen 4 having 4DX, and Screens 5 and 6 having Dolby Atmos and DTS-X sound, as well as BESTIA, a premium large formatted screen made by Cinema Sunshine themselves.

Screens 1 and 2 were housed on the 4th and 5th floors, while Screens 3 and 4 were housed on the 6th and 7th floors, Screens 5 and 6 on the 8th and 9th floors, Screens 7 through 11 on the 10th and 11th floors, and Screen 12 on both the 12th and 13th floors. The 5th floor also housed Clapper’s Diner, and the 13th floor featured the Bar Panorama, both of which are cafes and restaurants.

A 2.7m diameter spherical object called the “Light Sculpture” is located from the atrium lobby on the 4th and 5th floors (which lays Screens 1 and 2) and images are digitally projecting like a kaleidoscope in it. The theater floors are layered with different designs based on famous film festivals including Hollywood, Cannes, Venice, and Berlin. The escalator hall connecting the floors is a “Time Gallery” that displays posters of 140 masterpieces from the dawn of theaters to the present in chronological order.

The 2020 film “Tenet” was notable at the Ikebukuro, which recorded the highest opening box office revenue ever across IMAX theaters in the entire planet during its first four days of operation. It was a massive smash that the entire theater received a handwritten letter of appreciation from director Christopher Nolan.

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