Cinema
What does the future hold?
Years ago, when I was about 10 years old (1998), my parents took us to the IMAX at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town. Little did I know that this would be a moment that would change my life forever.
I was introduced to large-scale cinema for the first time in my life—a five-story-high screen (15m by 22m) with a 13,000-watt sound system. As a 10-year-old, this was mind-blowing, and my love for cinema was sealed.
Nowadays, IMAX screens are fed digital pictures, and the theater is smaller. The dream has faded. Currently, the world’s largest IMAX screen is in Leonberg, near Stuttgart, Germany, measuring 38 by 22 m. Until the Leonberg IMAX opened in 2021, the largest operating IMAX screen was located within the Melbourne Museum in Melbourne, Australia, measuring 32m × 23m. Until its demolition in 2016, the world’s largest IMAX screen had been in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia, measuring 35.72m × 29.57m. It reopened on October 12, 2023, with a screen that’s 31.2 by 22.2 m.
However, this wasn’t enough to lure more people away from their home screens and into the theater. Cinema is slowly hanging by a thread worldwide. Why pay for an expensive movie ticket when you can simply move the screen closer to your face?
This is the financial conundrum all cinema chains around the world face as streaming services undoubtedly erode their profits. Who’s selling the profitable theater snacks now?
Then, on September 29, 2023, the Sphere opened in Las Vegas. It boasts a 16K resolution wraparound interior LED screen, enveloping the audience in this dome-like structure. Its sound comes from speakers with beamforming and wave field synthesis technologies, plus there are 4D physical effects. The venue’s exterior also features 54,000 m2 of LED displays. The Sphere measures 112 m high and 157 m wide. Cinema has now changed forever.
The Irish rock band U2 started a 40-show residency called “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live.” Director Darren Aronofsky’s docu-film “Postcard from Earth” opened on October 6, 2023.
Would you try to make your way to a Sphere if one is near your town or city? You probably would, as it offers an experience out of this world—one you cannot recreate in your bedroom or lounge.
This is where the future of cinema lies—in the experience you had as a child going to the cinema, being blown away by the sheer size and loudness of it. As grown-ups, we need to feel like kids again. For the kids of our generation, it would be an absolute adventure. They will literally have to watch left to right and top to bottom to take in all of the action.
My point is that we need to bring the ultra-large screen experience back to towns and cities. Imagine seeing a screen the size of the Sphere in your city, gladly paying the expensive admission fee and buying your drinks and popcorn at a high rate while being blown away by wonderful visuals and sound.
How about watching that new Christopher Nolan epic on a 112 m high screen with Dolby Atmos, which entails over 52 “channels” of sound? That means there are more than 52 speakers spaced in the cinema to move sound around you—a surround sound phenomenon combined with crystal clear visuals of 16-18K.
This is the future of cinema.
Rick Bronkhorst
Founder & Writer
Rick is a former commercial fixed-wing pilot who graduated with merit from City Varsity, earning a BA in Film & TV Production in 2021. He is the founder of Bioskoop.co, The Rainbow Mafia, and Skatte Doos, and co-founded Groovejet. With a strong passion for filmmaking, he aspires to produce streaming series and films for both the South African and international markets. Additional passions include psychology, reading, hiking, rowing, and good wine.
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