There may not be any mention of it anywhere on the official site (or anywhere else, for that matter), but what’s the bet that Hoyts’ decision to upgrade three of its cinemas to play back IMAX-quality film was partially inspired by the success of The Dark Knight‘s IMAX scenes? I mean, come on – one of the biggest films ever made uses IMAX cameras and then six months later Hoyts are making over their cinemas? It can’t be a coincidence.
The three cinemas getting made over for IMAX goodness – Entertainment Quarter at Fox Studios in Sydney, Highpoint in Melbourne and Carousel in Perth – will all be bringing the IMAX experience on Boxing Day with the release of Keanu Reeves’ latest, The Day the Earth Stood Still. On top of that, the Hoyts cinemas will be showing typical IMAX documentaries, plus a selection of 3D entertainment, complete with stupid glasses.
But if they really want to show off, they’ll show The Dark Knight again…
[Hoyts]
Molokov
Monday, December 15, 2008 at 5:02 PMSigh… still no Imax cinemas at all in Adelaide.
The one we did have closed down several years back (due to nobody going to see movies there) and now it’s part of the Palace cinemas. Maybe they’ll convert that screen back to Imax?
james keen
Monday, December 15, 2008 at 7:00 PMAlso, star trek’s coming out in imax.. hopefully they’ll be done by then
Marcio N.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 10:51 AMIt is really a shame that Hoyts still hasn’t announced anything about expanding this partnership with IMAX to Adelaide. However, with more and more blockbuster Titles coming out in IMAX format and in these new locations there is a big chance this Hoyts/IMAX partnership will be a big hit.
If this happens I don’t see why they wouldn’t expand to Hoyts’ theaters in Adelaide. They actually announced in their website info about the joint venture (http://www.hoyts.com.au/Cinemas/IMAX.aspx).
A few more titles, among many others, to be screened in IMAX format are:
*Watchmen
*Monsters v Aliens
Mark B
Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 5:21 PMThe IMAX screens at Hoyts are for digital IMAX systems not the large film based systems that made the IMAX name. The screen in Sydney at Hoyts EQ will be about 20% the size of the screen in Darling Harbour and with a different aspect ratio. Even if they screen Dark Knight it wouldn’t look the same because those scenes were shot on IMAX film for the traditional IMAX screen ratio, not for the digital aspect ratio (which is much more like normal cinema). All IMAX screens are not the same!
Mark B
Friday, December 19, 2008 at 9:17 AMAnother thing on Hollywood features ‘made for IMAX’. All of these, except for Dark Knight simply used digital remastering to try to improve the quality of each film frame to make it suitable to be blown up to fit the width of the IMAX screen. Only Dark Knight actually had footage (and only about 20 minutes of it) shot with IMAX cameras onto 65mm film. All the others are just digital blow ups, which is why they don’t fill the entire IMAX screen like the scenes in Dark Knight did so amazingly. When these films are shown on IMAX’s puny digital systems in multiplexes they won’t look much different from the regular multiplex screens. This is all a lot of fuss about nothing.
Marcio N.
Monday, December 22, 2008 at 4:08 PMLast Friday I had the opportunity to go to the Hoyts/Imax preview of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney and I can assure the experience was awesome.
The screen is not as big as the ones in the current IMAX theaters, however, it was considerably bigger than the average cinema screen. The picture and sound quality were outstanding giving the audience a greater sense of perspective really making us feel inside the movie.
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”, as mentioned above, wasn’t shot with the IMAX cameras but their remastering technology really adds up to the whole experience transforming a regular sized movie into a enjoyable and very surprising experience.
Many titles will follow. I’m not sure which one will be shot with Actual IMAX cameras or remastered using IMAX technology. However, I think both are a equally good experience to the audience. A few titles to come are: Star Trek, Madagascar 2 and many more.
Nathan
Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 10:54 PMHow does this compare to the GMAX screens at Greater Union George Street? Movies there do look and sound better, so will the Hoyts IMAX be even better because of the remastering?
Nicholas Orr
Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 6:20 PMThese aren’t IMAX screen in the sense of the traditionally massive screens. The on at EQ is simply a digital cinema…
I got ripped off major. I went to see The Day The Earth Stood Still. I would have prefered to go to the local Parramatter GMAX cinema where the screen there is twice the size of the EQ Cinema 2 pretend IMAX screen….
Wayne
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 1:36 AMI totaly agree with Nicholas…
the small Imax shaped screen ( a curved bottom) with an even smaller image projected onto it , adding that the bottom corners are cut off and an area of white un-matted screen at the top and bottom leaves me to think that no care or attention to detail has been taken into account.
The only Imax experience is the large sign at the door to the cinema .
i believe this is the worst case of product branding i have seen, leaving the theater goer with nothing more than a lackluster experience and at $22.00 this is nothing more than a money making venture for both Hoyts and Imax.
I hope that all disastisfied customers express their views to Hoyts, and certainly let others know that their local cinema is proberbly doing a better job of the business of showing movies.
I never expected the traditional big screen experience of say darling Harbour,but this is not evn close,Dont waste your time and money.
Mark B
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 11:44 AMI totally agree. The IMAX theatre in Darling Harbour is run separately by a small Australian company. It has a projector lease agreement with IMAX Corporation (a Canadian company) – this is the usual arrangement and the one in Melbourne is run by Melbourne Museum with a similar agreement. Hoyts have entered into a separate agreement with IMAX to take a digital system.
IMAX have made a big mistake if they think the average cinema goer isn’t going to feel ripped off when the see this IMAX-lite. Sad thing is, it will reflect badly on the original IMAX theatres which had nothing to do with the digital Hoyts/IMAX deal.
Bruce
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 10:00 PMI saw “The day the earth stood still”. Great movie. However, dissapinted with the IMAX screen size. Just a bit bigger than a normal movie screen. Nothing like the size of the darling harbour IMAX. Hoyts should make it very clear about the screen size
Malcom
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 1:07 PMI saw Madagascar 2 at the HOYTS IMAX at Moore Park this week. Totally awesome. That’s my local cinema. The clarity of the image was the best I have ever seen. It used the full screen (not cut off like mentioned in earlier posts?). The sound rocked BIG time. I reckon its the best sound I’ve heard in a cinema. The sound at the IMAX in Darling Harbour is also brilliant but its such a pain going down there (very run down now too). The screen is smaller than DH but I can live with that – I sat closer. At times DH can be too big for fast edited films. I lost sections of Dark Knight where I couldnt work out what was happening. Can’t wait for Star Trek. Bring on more films in IMAX. Lovin’ it.
Junior
Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 9:33 AMsaw madagascar as well, its the best screen at eq, good picture and great sound, but i couldn’t work out what was imax about it and why i had to pay extra? just seemed like a normal cinema and just the same film, not ‘imax’.
mike
Sunday, October 9, 2011 at 11:24 AMI’m sure if an imax install was fitted out at a more cinema friendly localion ie Marion Adelaide etc as oposed to the previous Adelaide City Easrend site there would be no shortage of clientele.
Note; Suburban locals don’t have access, egress and associated cost issues.
dartigen
Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 12:38 AMI’m really disappointed that there’s still no Adelaide IMAX. We missed out on the special previews for both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, and we’re only going to miss out more as filmmakers move towards 3D.
Hoyts’ ‘IMAX-like’ doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing.
And it’s even more disappointing that there are no cinemas anymore in the CBD. The Hindmarsh Square cinema was really good – I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire there, and it was great. And it’s really irritating to be out in the city with friends and want to go see a movie, but you know that the nearest cinema is almost an hour by bus away (on a good day).