As indie filmmakers and producers navigating the distribution landscape, it’s always important to stay tapped into how the theatrical experience is evolving and how those changes might open new opportunities for your projects to stand out.
In this new update from Deadline, AMC Theatres and CJ 4DPLEX are doubling down on premium formats, expanding their footprint of ScreenX and 4DX across U.S. theaters. ScreenX offers a 270-degree panoramic viewing experience, while 4DX incorporates motion, scents, wind, and other effects to physically engage the audience.
This move is a clear signal that theatrical exhibitors are looking for bold, immersive ways to differentiate the cinema-going experience from at-home viewing and could impact how we think about developing and distributing genre films, action/adventure stories, or anything that benefits from heightened visual and sensory storytelling.
Read more here:
https://deadline.com/2025/03/amc-entertainment-screenx-4dx-premium-forma...
What do you think about the growing push for premium-format theatrical experiences? Do you see potential to collaborate with exhibitors on these formats, or to shape content with these experiences in mind? Let’s discuss.
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I have yet to try a 4DX theater Ashley Renee Smith - I drove by one in Houston when I was last there so I'll have to check and see if there's one here. I remember when the first concept of this came out with "Captain Eo" starring Michael Jackson was at Disney. I've also never heard of ScreenX but it sounds amazing!
"ScreenX is a multi-projection cinema technology with an immersive 270-degree panoramic viewing experience, surrounding the audience with story-enhancing visuals that cannot be replicated at home. "
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Found one.
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I've only seen movies on regular theater screens, Ashley Renee Smith, but I've been wanting to watch them in IMAX. I think a push for premium-format theatrical experiences is great for moviegoers. And I think it's great for profit. Just like with any business, you have to change things up (sometimes once in a while and sometimes more often).
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I think the shift to premium formats is going to be critical moving forward. Movie theaters need to be A) a place people WANT to go to and B) a place where they give you something you can't get at home.
I'm a huge fan of large-formats like IMAX and Dolby and I'm happy to see them embrace it!
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I love the Dolby cinemas here in Nashville Aaron Mirtes but I have yet to try 4DX.
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You definitely have to check out 4DX when you get the chance, Leonardo Ramirez! I’ve done it a few times and it’s such a fun, immersive experience! It really pulls you into the film in a way that feels like an amusement park ride. I’d love to hear what you think when you experience it!
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I completely agree, Maurice Vaughan! You have to try new things.
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Same here, Aaron Mirtes!
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Definitely will Ashley Renee Smith!
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IMO honest marketing for screenx and 4dx would be something like "trying yesterday's technology over again today." Wrap-around walls were done and largely abandoned long before I was a teen (many decades ago), as were cinema seats that move, tremble and excrete odors and mist, etc. Contrary to the marketing, these exact ideas have proved time and again to distract from the narrative experience, rather than enhance it (contrary to the screenx marketing that asserts it enhances the narrative). That is not to say that marketing it as a different experience than that of traditional cinema wouldn't work or that some audiences shouldn't like it. It is to say that, IMO, it's suited for media that crosses into gaming or amusement park ride experiences, by definition.
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Good point Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg. Anybody remember “sensurround”?
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It's cool to see some theaters trying to elevate, or evolve, the experience. I agree with Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg, that a lot of thsi has been tried before in different ways, but also think that making the experience more dynamic is worth trying. And, yes, Leonardo Ramirez - I remember sensurround - my experience was Rollercoaster starring George Segal and Henry Fonda. I also saw John Waters' film Polyester in a theater as a little kid - scratch and sniff Odorama - weird enough to never forget. Always ready to try something to enhance a theatrical experience and imagine 4dx is way cooler than Odorama :)
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Sometimes, audiences aren't ready, and it's all about finding the moment when the tech is where it needs to be to meet audience expectations. It's true that experiences like these have been attempted before, but many of the Gen X and Gen Alpha viewers who are seeking them out are experiencing them all for the first time, and it's so wildly different from watching things on their devices at home that it's an exciting experience.
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I think the next medium is vr goggle movies. Theaters are trying to mimic it, while charging exuberant amounts to watch what’s out now. Nothings made for being on three walls. I say three, till they expect you to twist around and see what’s behind you. Nobody’s releasing made for vr format movies yet. I’ve always thought a single big screen is no different than a big tv athome, why see it in the theater where they charge a lot, and I can’t pause it. I can’t take a bathroom break w/o missing stuff. Don’t give me a big ass drink and think I won’t miss something. I think it’s cool to be adding surround views and smells, but vr is really set up better for it. That’s where as a film maker, I would try to be. Personally, it would take a really cool immersive story to need all that anyway. Maybe a first person view.? Or beautiful shots of nature all around you. But something like interrogation room scene doesn’t need 3 walls around you to feel a part of it, unless u want the audience to feel claustrophobic. Stuff on the sides is hard to focus on anyway, the minute the scenes are one side wall, then the others side wall.. and not infront of you will make u question why you are watching this harder to follow format.. it would be not as great. It could be cool but, I see ways it limits the audience from seeing everything. Think like a Where’s Waldo movie where you spend time searching for him.. do u want two more walls to have to look at?? I don’t. But like a horses running across a grassy hillside.. ya that would look even cooler w more screen.