Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Indiana State Museum’s Imax theater was in rare company as one of 30 locations worldwide that showed 2023 blockbuster “Oppenheimer” in the 70mm format.
“Dune: Part Two,” cinema’s early-2024 sensation, puts the state museum’s Imax on an even shorter list. The Indianapolis theater is one of 12 worldwide showing a 70mm print of the sci-fi movie starring Timothée Chalamet.
Unlike “Oppenheimer,” which was shot using Imax film cameras, “Dune: Part Two” was captured digitally. Neale Johantgen, director of the museum’s Imax theater, said “Dune’s” visual effects are worth a look before the movie’s month-long run ends on March 28.
“When you see this whole wall that’s just all movie, it’s something else,” Johantgen said of the theater’s 84-foot by 62-foot screen.
Imax, commonly associated with 30-minute to hour-long nature documentaries, is building its reputation in mainstream Hollywood.
“Oppenheimer” producer Emma Thomas mentioned Imax Corp. CEO Rich Gelfond during her best picture acceptance speech during the March 10 Academy awards telecast.
Thomas thanked Gelfond and “everybody else at Imax for believing in this movie when it maybe didn’t make that much sense to do so. Thank you to all the theaters. As a moviegoer and as a filmmaker, that’s why we do what we do.”
The state museum’s Imax was one of just a few in the Midwest capable of showcasing “Oppenheimer” as director Christopher Nolan intended, both in terms of its 1.43:1 aspect ratio and being projected via film.
Johantgen is an employee of Toronto-based Imax Corp.
“Being a part of Imax, where there’s other people who care about that kind of precision and presentation excellence, is rewarding,” he said. “And to see that matter to people in the industry is very cool.”
Online news site Deadline Hollywood reported that Imax ticket sales accounted for $183.2 million of “Oppenheimer’s” $950 million global gross. That’s 19% of the box office generated by just 30 theaters.
“We sold out every single show for six or seven weeks,” Johantgen said.
Regarding “Dune: Part Two,” the state museum’s Imax again has the massive screen and projection-booth platter to accommodate a 500-pound film print.
Because it’s not summer yet and “Dune: Part Two” isn’t in a cultural whirlwind to rival “Barbie” vs. “Oppenheimer,” Johantgen said Warner Bros. Pictures likely limited its “Dune” Imax plan to a dozen sites.
Among nine theaters in the United States showing “Dune: Part Two” in 70mm, the closest to Indianapolis is the Regal Opry Mills & IMAX in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I’m glad we made the cut,” Johantgen said. For “Dune: Part Two” ticket information, visit imax.com.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.