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Whenever a big new movie comes out in theaters now, people scroll through the showtimes and are met with a plethora of different format options. IMAX is probably the most famous of these today, but there are still many others, including Dolby Cinema, 4DX, D-BOX, ScreenX, and more. Cinemas implementing a variety of different ways to see a movie is nothing new. For decades, people making and showing movies have been trying different ways to get people out of their homes and into the theater, whether it’s Cinerama, 3D, Sensurround, or even Smell-O-Vision. One more recent example you may have seen is Laser at AMC.
This was a venture started in 2022 between the theater chain AMC and Cinionic, a company that specializes in laser projection for cinemas that has since been acquired by Barco. Since the industry-wide switch to digital projection, people have been trying to make projectors brighter, more vibrant, and more efficient than what you’d get with a regular lamp bulb. Instead of a lamp, this newer projector uses laser diodes to create the images on screen, and with this technology, it greatly extends the life of a projector and gives it those boosts in brightness and color accuracy that are so desired. The goal of Laser at AMC is to have installed these projectors in 3,500 auditoriums around the United States by the end of 2026. This is a costly upfront endeavor, but it should deliver a vastly superior viewer experience. Do these top-of-the-line projectors then beat what IMAX has to offer?
IMAX is its own premium format, but it can have a laser projector too
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What makes IMAX what it is doesn’t have much to do with the projector being used. Instead, IMAX controls the entire auditorium and focuses on screen size and the sound system. These screens range anywhere from 52 to 98 feet high and feature a six-channel surround sound system. IMAX aims to deliver the biggest picture and the loudest, most dynamic sound it can. Sometimes that involves a laser projector, but it’s not required for an IMAX theater.
With the recent releases of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and “The Odyssey,” you’ve probably heard of IMAX 70mm. Rather than using digital projection at all, this uses actual celluloid to project the image on the screen. This is just a massive film format that can properly be displayed on a screen of this size, though the number of theaters equipped for this is sadly few and far between. Notably, IMAX 70mm and IMAX Laser projectors are the only way to get the tall 1.4:1 aspect ratio required to fill the largest of IMAX screens. Smaller IMAX screens can only accommodate a 1.9:1 aspect ratio, and these theaters often use IMAX Xenon projectors, which use xenon arc lamps to project the image. These projectors can also only produce a 2K image. IMAX Laser projectors are full 4K and, if needed, can also project the wider 1.9:1 aspect ratio. Seeing a movie in IMAX doesn’t guarantee laser projection.
Laser projection isn’t just at AMC
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While Laser at AMC may make it seem like this is some exclusive form of exhibition at AMC Theatres, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Laser projection is available in cinemas run by a variety of companies across the United States. Not only that, but many of these laser projectors are provided by the same company that does so for AMC, Barco.
In January 2025, it was announced that Barco had partnered with the second-biggest movie theater chain in the country, Regal Cineworld, to upgrade to laser projection. The goal was to have laser projection in 4,000 auditoriums by 2030 across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. Barco has also partnered with smaller theater chains like Alamo Drafthouse for laser projectors. Currently, 18 Alamo Drafthouse locations feature these laser projectors, and as the chain continues to expand, that number will more than likely increase.
Prior to the deal between Barco’s Cinionic and AMC for these upgrades, Cinionic partnered with Cinemark, the third-largest chain in the country, on a 10-year plan to install laser projectors across its locations. This deal goes all the way back to 2019. Laser projectors are really becoming the standard for cinema-going. They don’t stop there, though. Many of the best projectors you can buy for your home theater use laser technology as well. The question will eventually be whether cinemas will take a page from the home playbook and start utilizing LED screens in theaters instead of projectors altogether.