I test-drove the new ScreenX movie format. Here's what I thought of it

"Whenever my wife and I go to watch a movie together, lately we tend to pick a new theater close to where we live that's called 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku. There are reclining seats, you get free popcorn in a chill lounge when you arrive, and the supposedly best-in-Japan sound system was tuned by the late music legend Ryuichi Sakamoto. What's not to like?"

"The "X" in "ScreenX" appears to stand for "expanded" or "extended," because ultimately, what you get is three screens in one. You're mostly just watching a regular 2D movie screen in front of you, but the footage spills onto the sides of the theater for a 270-degree view. ScreenX was developed by South Korean theater chain CJ CGV, a subsidiary of one of the country's largest conglomerates."

"While ScreenX has been niche in most of the Western world to date, leading American chain AMC struck a deal with CJ last year to add 25 ScreenX auditoriums and 40 4DX screens across the U.S and Europe. Domestic competitor Cinemark also increased its ScreenX footprint, with plans to add 18 auditoriums in the U.S. over 2025 and 2026."

109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku offers reclining seats, a chill lounge with free popcorn, and a sound system tuned by Ryuichi Sakamoto. A screening of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple played only in a ScreenX auditorium. ScreenX provides three screens in one by extending footage onto side walls while preserving a central 2D screen for a 270-degree view. South Korean chain CJ CGV developed ScreenX and also originated 4DX, an immersive competing format. Major chains such as AMC and Cinemark are expanding ScreenX and 4DX auditoriums across the U.S. and Europe.

Read at Fast Company