[MetroMan]

When the Dark Knight and then Avatar were released, it became obvious that Toronto doesn't have enough IMAX Theatres. Many people who wanted to watch either of those movies in IMAX, often had to settle for RealD 3D instead because tickets were sold out, days in advance and lineups curled around the block.

It turns out, Toronto only has 2 IMAX theatres. There's one at Scotiabank Theatre and one at Colossus in Woodbridge.

This can be a problem because more and more films are being released in this format and any new film will bump out a hit like Avatar which could have continued to lure full theatres for weeks or months -- as such, it's returning at the end of August.

Have any new IMAX theatres opened in Toronto since Avatar or are any planned? I can't seem to find any info on this.

 

[kettal]

You are forgetting the world's first Imax theatre: Cinesphere at Ontario Place

Then there is another one at Science Centre too

 

[MetroMan]

Yes, but those are outdated and don't provide the full IMAX experience and can't display the latest 3D tech. There appears to be a 3rd IMAX in Toronto though: Coliseum in Mississauga. Still, with all the 3D movies being released, there clearly needs to be more of these theatres. I'm wondering if any are under construction.

 

[Dan416]

Yes, but those are outdated and don't provide the full IMAX experience and can't display the latest 3D tech. There appears to be a 3rd IMAX in Toronto though: Coliseum in Mississauga. Still, with all the 3D movies being released, there clearly needs to be more of these theatres. I'm wondering if any are under construction.

Haha I was gonna point out the one at Coliseum. That addition they did at Coliseum is why it irks me when people call it Coliseum 10 (when it has 12 theatres now plus the IMAX for 13).

 

[MetroMan]

To elaborate on the difference of the new IMAX theatres versus the ones @ Cinesphere and the one @ the Ontario Science Centre, the new ones have curved screens in relatively small theatres so your peripheral vision cheats you into feeling like you're part of the action and the screens have tiny holes with the speakers directly behind the screen so you hear sound coming directly from the action.

That said, even 5 theatres wouldn't be enough for the size of this city. That says a lot about the existing 3. We need 10 or more to even begin satisfying the demand.

 

[kettal]

Science centre is relatively new and the screen is curved with soundholes.

The 3d imax market is simply too lucrative now for these theatres to not start showing it.

real-d 3d simply does not work with me. Something is wrong with my eyes.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

All movie screens have small holes in them with speakers strategically placed in behind so that the soundtrack enhances the film with both stereophonic sound and to co-ordinate the action that is happening on screen, limited of course to how well the sound mix is produced. The screen at the Ontario Science Centre is not IMAX, it's an OMNIMAX screen that plays IMAX films as not many films were shot in the OMNIMAX format, the filming system was pretty much abandoned in the 90's. IMAX is a large screen placed in front of the audience with an aspect ratio of 1.43:1, OMNIMAX is a domed screen that wraps around the front half of the room and above the viewer creating a more immersive experience. Unfortunately because OMNIMAX films were shot using a "fish-eye" lens to be projected properly on a deeply curved domed screen, when IMAX films are played they look a little screwed up.

So back to our shortage of IMAX screens in Toronto. Toronto is not unique with this problem, most major cities are under served with IMAX screens and with the huge success of feature films in IMAX of late and the volume of films being released in the format the exhibitors are faced with the problem of "where do we build them"? The other problem is that they are extremely expensive investments costing much more to build due to the large theatre designs and expensive projection & sound playback equipment. This is also a transitional period for IMAX as some newer IMAX screens in the US and abroad are using IMAX digital projection instead of expensive 70MM release prints but some audiences complain of the poor quality image so it's hard to say where the format is going. Given all this I wouldn't expect to see any new IMAX screens in the near future, after all if you can't get in to see the movie in IMAX the exhibitor knows that in most cases people will choose to see the film in a regular cinema (which they usually have multiple screens playing the same film at the ready) instead of leaving to go home so they know that they are going to get your money. Some die-hards will return at a later date to re-watch the film on their IMAX screen once the film has played out for a few weeks so in many cases they get your money twice which doesn't create a lot of incentive to build more expensive IMAX screens.

 

[khris]

I'm kind of surprised that the AMC didn't build an IMAX screen. Does Cineplex have a monopoly on IMAX in Canada?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

I'm kind of surprised that the AMC didn't build an IMAX screen. Does Cineplex have a monopoly on IMAX in Canada?

I know that Empire Theatres have an IMAX screen in Nova Scotia, there may be others that I'm not aware of in other parts of Canada. What I understand is that when there's an IMAX screen within a booking zone no other commercial IMAX screens can be built so that would prevent say, AMC from adding IMAX to Yonge-Dundas if that's within the same booking zone as Scotiabank. Many exhibitors have developed their own giant screen formats that isn't IMAX but presents the audience with a massive screen. AMC calls it ETX and has one at Yonge-Dundas and other exhibitors in the US have developed similar huge screen alternatives but alias, they don't employ IMAX equipment, prints or technology.

 

[khris]

There are no Cineplex owned theatres on the east coast at all.