IMAX Theatre

About IMAX® Theatres

About IMAX® Theatres

What's so different about IMAX®?
The screens are the biggest in the world!

IMAX TheatreSince the earliest days of cinema, filmmakers have realized that the bigger the image, the greater the impact on the viewer.

Imagine the difference between watching a film at home on video and the same film at a normal 35mm cinema. The film might be the same, but the experience couldn't be more different. Well, consider the jump from traditional cinema to IMAX® as a similar, dramatic leap.

Up to eight stories high, the screens are 10 times larger than a traditional cinema screen and fill the whole field of peripheral vision. Made of a reflective and perforated vinyl, the world's largest screens are mounted taut over a scaffold frame.

Sound is critical to the IMAX® experience. Speakers positioned in the rear of the theater and behind the screen provide a total surround-sound system. The film soundtracks are delivered through a mighty 12,000-watt digital sound system.

IMAX® Facts and Figures

  • The IMAX® Naval Aviation Memorial Theater is one of the largest IMAX® theaters in the world and has the largest screen in Florida.
  • It took nearly two years to construct the theater. It contains 690 tons of structural steel and 1,990 cubic yards of concrete.
  • The screen is 62 feet high and 82 feet wide with a frontal surface area of 5,084 square feet.
  • The screen itself weighs over 600 pounds and is stretched over a structure called the screen tower, weighing over 5 tons.
  • The projector passes the large 70mm film at 24 frames per second.
  • The film is lifted off the lens and replaced by the next frame. This occurs 24 times per second as the film passes over a 3-foot diameter rotor turning at 180 mph.
  • The projected image on the screen is magnified 273 times the size of the film frame.