Saturday, February 16, 2013

Oz The Great and Powerful - IMAX or Cinerama?


For those of you debating exactly which theater will give you the most bang for your buck when you head out to watch Oz The Great and Powerful, I have put together some helpful information just for you.

Now, I'm not going to compare every screen in the greater Seattle area, but I am going to give you the lowdown on the two big players. The Seattle Cinerama and the Pacific Science Center IMAX theaters. Right off the bat, you're thinking..."No contest, IMAX wins every time!".

Clearly you need to read my other blog post regarding IMAX.
You can read it HERE, but finish this article first.


Normally, I would agree with the IMAX sentiment assuming the movie is playing in the unbelievably awesome "Boeing IMAX Theater", but keep in mind there are some movies, such as the huge mega blockbuster "The Avengers", that have been playing at the Pacific Science Center's still-awesome-but-not-nearly-as-impressive "PACCAR IMAX Theater".


Oh, you didn't know there was more than one IMAX screen at the Science Center? Well, now that you know, I'm going to keep this simple and just throw down some basic theater screen stats for you to review.

According to the Pacific Science Center website, Oz The Great and Powerful will be screening in the smaller PACCAR IMAX Theater. Also keep in mind that IMAX cameras were NOT used during the filming of this movie which means the IMAX presentation you will see on their screens was created using a digital conversion process.

The PACCAR IMAX Theater:
Height: 35 feet
Width: 60 feet
Capacity: 350
Adult 3D Ticket: $14.25

The Seattle Cinerama:
Height: 30 feet
Width: 68 feet
Capacity: 808
Adult 3D Ticket: $15.00


For those really wondering, here is one more.
Regal Thornton Place IMAX Theater:
Height: 28.5 feet
Width: 48 feet
Adult 3D IMAX Ticket: $18.00!!

The last set of stats is basically what you will also find at the Southcenter Mall IMAX, Alderwood Mall IMAX, and the Lincoln Square IMAX theaters. If you live in one of those areas, save yourself some cash for popcorn or candy and go to a non "IMAX" screen.

Want to know more about IMAX screens that aren't even anywhere near as big as the non-IMAX Cinerama screen? Go ahead and check out the other blog post I mentioned earlier. You may never go back to any of the mall "IMAX" theaters ever again. At least I hope you don't.


For my money, the Cinerama is the logical choice as it not only has a very comparable screen size to the PACCAR IMAX, but you also get a huge auditorium with comfortable seats and reasonable concession prices. Hopefully I have given you enough information to make the best choice, but whatever you do, go see The Avengers in a movie theater!

Here's some pictures of the Cinerama theater.





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