On a first viewing in a regular multiplex, parts of the film's fantasy sequences—especially the monster-heavy set pieces—felt slightly misaligned. A second screening in IMAX reframed the entire experience. The larger format made those scenes land the way Nolan intended. He shot the entire film on 70mm IMAX cameras.
Exhibition technology is now shaping the product itself, not just how it's delivered. When a major director's film plays meaningfully better on a premium format, that format becomes a gatekeeper for the best version of the art. Theater chains get a pricing lever for revenue. Studios will market it harder. Audiences will get nudged toward the pricier seat if they want the version everyone's actually talking about.
Theater chains will push IMAX and other premium formats harder. Studios will back them in marketing. The standard multiplex experience becomes a second-tier option by default.
For years, Hollywood taught audiences the screen doesn't matter because the movie hits your couch in three months anyway. Nolan is making the opposite bet, and this piece suggests he's right: for some films, format is part of the narrative grammar. Great for IMAX shareholders. Worse for anyone whose local theater doesn't have one, or whose ticket budget stops at standard admission.
Filed to the Technology desk · Jul 20