An interesting development that has been reported on for the last few weeks is that there are apparently these new digital IMAX theaters in which the screen is MUCH smaller than what would be expected for an IMAX screen.
The issue began with a blog rant by actor/comedian Aziz Ansari claiming that he was duped into seeing a “fake” IMAX version of Star Trek at an AMC theater in Burbank.
Apparently there was a response to the complaints by IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond saying that only 2% on moviegoers were smart enough to know the difference between the screens (a statement that can easily be questioned).
My 2 cents on this situation is that at the moment this seems like an American issue. IMAX is a Canadian company and all the IMAX theaters I’ve been to have been legitimate (that said, I’ve only been to 3). This digital IMAX that people are complaining about sounds an awfully lot like the Enhanced Theater Experience (ETX) that was offered at the AMC in downtown Toronto and when I went to see Star Trek in the theater my best description would be “IMAX Lite.”
While it is sad to hear this, I am still a supporter of IMAX and I even plan on later this afternoon going to see Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian at the properly-sized IMAX theater I go to (which, I found out yesterday, now costs $2 more).