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To IMAX and beyond. . . .

Large-format films take moviegoers around the world in a big way


Deseret News, 8 September 2000

Article Summary:

An IMAX-size venue costs from $3 million for one screen in a multiplex to $20 million for a stand-alone domed palace.

This is what family entertainment has come to — whirlwind, action-dense "motion-picture experiences," commonly known as IMAX films. "IMAX" has become the "Kleenex" brand-name term for a handful of large-format film companies with names such as MegaSystems and I-Werks. They make epics that hurtle above us on six-story-high screens, with stereo sound that whooshes around our bodies like Class IV river rapids.


Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theatre:

  • 6 years old
  • saw its millionth customer this spring, before the tourist season began
  • "Treasure of the Gods" takes Zion National Park visitors "to parts of the canyon that they'd have to take a lot of time to hike into . . . most don't take time to explore the whole park." (Kathy LaFave, manager of the Zion Canyon theater)


Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons:

  • 150,000 patrons have seen films the SuperScreen
  • North American Museum of Ancient Life:
  • Utah's third large-format venue
  • opened in July with "Alaska: Spirit of the Wild"
  • 54,621 patrons in first eight weeks

 
Salt Lake Aquarium Center:

  • a large-format screen might be part of the proposed Salt Lake aquarium center

 
Cinemark at Crossroads Plaza:

  • Cinemark planning to build an IMAX-certified screenat Crossroads Plaza
  • August or September 2001 opening
  • theater was postponed because of the proliferation of multiplexes in the valley
  • "We're hoping for an August or September 2001 opening." Construction of the IMAX-certified screen was postponed more than a year because of the proliferation of other multiplexes around the valley. "We wanted to let the dust settle.” (Dave Nielson, Crossroads general manager)