ScreenX is a panoramic film format which presents films with an expanded, dual-sided, 270-degree screens projected on the walls in a theater.[1] First introduced in 2012, it is created by CJ 4DPLEX, a subsidiary of the CJ CGV group which also created the 4DX motion-theater technology, which, in fact, uses a similar logo and combines both formats, known as "4DX Screen".[2] Co-developed by KAIST, it is considered a "sideways" version of IMAX and a presumed competitor to streaming platforms such as Netflix.[3][4][5][6][7] In addition to films, the ScreenX theater also shows advertisements filmed or converted for the format.
As of 2022, the theater technology is installed in 364 screens in 37 countries.[8]
Technical aspects
Former logo used until 2019.
Like for IMAX films, in order to match the length of the entire tri-screen theater, ScreenX films are formatted either through pre-production (shooting) or post-production (converting).[1] A film shot for ScreenX is typically shot with three cameras.[9] The process is done through scene selecting, archiving, delivering assets, color grading, and mastering before distribution to theaters.[10]
The majority of films produced for ScreenX are live-action films, mostly from Asia, particularly South Korea. Only a few animated films (as well as family films) are ever shown in/produced for the format.[9] Despite its innovation, the technology has been rarely produced for Hollywood-studio films due to the complexity of the additional computer animation work as side footage.[11] Lee Jae-seon, who worked for the ScreenX version of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword at G-node, said that, "It is not easy to create Hollywood blockbuster CG work in Korea, but it is meaningful because we created Hollywood blockbuster CG work for ScreenX.”[11] Additionally, films were initially shown only in selected locations due to the lack of partners at the time.[11]
On December 13, 2019, the largest ScreenX auditorium in the world was inaugurated at the Màgic Badalona shopping centre in Badalona, Spain. It has a capacity of 398 seats.[12] India got its first ScreenX in July 2019 at INOX Megaplex at Mumbai, Maharashtra.[13][14]
Box office performance
Since 2018, the ScreenX technology has proven to be successful at the worldwide box-office, following the successful panoramic release of Marvel Studios' Black Panther.[15] It has grossed a combined total of over $40 million throughout the year through films released in the panoramic format.[16]
In 2022, ScreenX has achieved even more-successful box-office results, with Top Gun: Maverick being the highest-grossing release.[17][18]
4DX Screen
4DX Screen (formerly "4DX with ScreenX") is the combination of the ScreenX and 4DX film formats which allows moviegoers to experience films in the multi-screen auditorium with enhanced motion and environmental effects, with an additional fourth-screen projected on the ceiling and the newest 4DX chair models. It debuted at a theater in Yongsan in 2017, and was internationally unveiled at CinemaCon 2018, and later at CES 2020.[19][20][21] The combined film format is currently[when?] operating throughout Asian territories including South Korea, Japan, China and India. It later opened its first theater in a non-Asian location at a Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé theater in Paris, France.[22][23] It later made its overseas debut at a Cinépolis theater in Mexico City, Mexico in March 2020.[24][25][26]
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