My Plans For This Week
Here it is! What we’ve been waiting for since 2016: a new (solo) Superman movie. To say I’m excited would be a major understatment. I’ve got some big plans this week to see the movie.
Big blockbuster movies in 2025 are different than they were a decade ago. Back then I believe Man of Steel was playing in IMAX, standard digital, and 3D. The IMAX showing was just a bigger screen, there were no aspect ratio changes; (it’s all in 2.35:1). The 3D was processed in post, with some mixed results.
This movie has a few more options. It is “Filmed for IMAX” and IMDB lists a separate 1.9:1 aspect ratio for that version. We have Dolby Cinema which is a High Dynamic Range format plus Dolby’s Atmos sound which I really enjoy. We’ve got 4DX which is like an amusement park ride with moving seats, fans, flashing lights, and water sprays. Finally, we have ScreenX which is a 270-degree, multi-projection system projecting supplemental images onto the side walls. That’s not mentioning all the popcorn buckets. I want to be able to see this movie in every format. Here is the plan so far.
First off we have the Tuesday night July 8th Amazon Prime exclusive preview screening. That’s happening in a small (30.8 x 55.1 ft) IMAX theater in my area. That certainly won’t be sufficient.
Second we have the Dolby Cinema Thursday July 10th opening night screening. This is probably my favorite theater in the area and the quality is top notch.
I’d also like to see it on the “official” opening day of July 11th so I’ll be heading up north to a Cinemark to get their exclusive items. I’ll also take my sister and her family since they aren’t too far away.
Saturday the 12th I want to see it in the biggest IMAX possible so that will be the AMC in Manhattan (75.6 x 101 ft). Quick train ride no problem.
Sunday the 13th, since I’ll already be in Manhattan I might as well do the 4DX too. They don’t have any of those in the New England area.
ScreenX is the outlier. There are theaters in Manhattan and Rhode Island that offer ScreenX, but none of them are showing Superman. In fact there are no ScreenX theaters in the Northeastern US showing Superman. I reached out to one theater chain and was told:
We will unfortunately, not be showing Superman in ScreenX format due to the creation of the film in what’s called “flat” format. The ScreenX only works for movies created in “scope” format. Sometimes we can show a flat movie in ScreenX but it will have larger than ideal gaps between the main screen and the wing screens. We want the best viewing experience as possible so we will only be showing Superman in ACX and 2D standard screens.
I followed up for more information, since there is a dedicated ScreenX poster for Superman, it’s showing in other theaters, and it’s the top pinned post on the ScreenX Instagram.
They further explained:
Not all ScreenX’s are built the same, ours at Warwick unfortunately has a higher than average gap between the main screen and wings. On top of the movie gap and the physical gap the movie would not look proper. There could possibly be a showing for it if they test the footage once it’s released.
When I reached out to Regal I got a bit of a canned reply:
We have forwarded a copy of your comments to our Film and Booking Department for their review and consideration. Please understand that Regal film buyers try to play as many quality films as possible with as much variety as possible. However, where films will play is not based solely on a special audience or market for them. Sometimes film companies will limit the release of films to specific regions or larger metropolitan areas, and this is beyond our control.
I highly doubt Warners and DC Studios is limiting the release of Superman in ScreenX from New York City, while playing it in Florida and all over the west coast. I went through every ScreenX location Regal has listed and 50% of them are showing Superman in the format.
I’m not certain where the truth is. There was a ScreenX press release back in March announcing ScreenX was coming to AMC theaters and that Superman was a featured movie. Although that notes there will be ScreenX screens opening at AMC theaters by the summer, which I cannot find any evidence of. Regal is not the only chain with ScreenX. Cinemark, B&B Theatres, Regency, and CinemaWest are all showing Superman in ScreenX across the country. This may be one format I miss out on, but my eyes are open.
I did see Man of Steel and Superman Returns three times each opening week, so this is expected behavior.