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The original was posted on /r/movies by /u/rejiro659630042025 on 2025-05-27 14:21:01+00:00.
I almost missed out on Sinners in 70mm, so if this post comes off as a little petty, I admittedly am.
I work in film myself, I love and live for the artform. Unfortunately, my unpredictable work schedule means I actually miss out on watching some good movies in theatres. My girlfriend and I have to coordinate our work schedules, and sometimes we’re able to go on the third week. We both only got to see Sinners on the week of its return engagement in 70mm because IMAX agreed to it.
Lately, IMAX has been screening a lot of new releases for only a week or two, and rereleases for maybe 1-3 days. Michael B Jordan himself complained about the small 3 day window which he couldn’t attend the screening of the 4K Princess Mononoke restoration. This is occuring quite often because IMAX has been adamant about signing contracts for as many films and experiences as possible. Sinners was not only kicked out of theatres to make way for Thunderbolts*, but also to make way for Fortnite Championship Series (which I can’t understand how the audience would benefit from the extra pixels compared to a standard screen). Interstellar’s infamously limited rerelease had advance tickets offered on eBay for hundreds.
Furthermore, tickets are so hard to buy for the first week and sometimes even the second week. IMAX has unintentionally curated a toxic collecting culture around collecting different film strips every week (the artificial scarcity of those same strips selling for hundreds online). It has contributed to a toxic rewatch culture that takes away seats from potential first-time viewers. And IMAX only has so many screens available, which makes rewatch culture even more unfair when a second viewing could be on a standard screen instead.
IMAX’s greed is why a lot of cinemagoers who usually show up the second or third week have become jaded with movie theatres and just wait for the home release. Who can blame them when they’re being marketed the best cinema experience only to be blocked out of attending because it’s so hard to find good tickets for the entire IMAX run? IMAX has close to a monopoly on Premium Large Format where I live here in Canada (if they don’t have one already). Again, I love cinema, but this is the reason I’m falling out of love with watching films in a theatre.
What can IMAX do to fix this? Sign less contracts, IMAX should only screen 11 or 12 new releases each year, in 3-4 week runs. The extra weeks left over can be filled with rereleases that stay for 1-2 weeks. Make only one type of film strip so that viewers aren’t coming back to collect them all, and increase the supply so that everyone who wants to get one can get one.
Where will the other films go if they can’t screen in IMAX? They can go to competing Premium Large Formats or standard screens (romcoms aren’t made for IMAX, to be quite fair). There aren’t enough IMAX screens to properly meet demand for the biggest films out there, so some films have to be pushed out to make way for longer engagements for other films.
If IMAX cannot change their ways and allow their screenings to stay an extra week or two so they can be more accessible, I think it’s time to bet on another horse in the race. Maybe Dolby Cinema once they can open up enough screens worldwide. But preferably a format that can keep a film in theatres for roughly a month, as it used to be back in the old days. I’m speaking as someone who didn’t have to worry about choosing between Spider-Man 2 or Shrek 2, because I could see them both in theatres on different days.