After having its release date delayed a staggering five times over two years, when the 25th James Bond movie “No Time to Die” finally does hit theaters in many global markets on Sept. 30 (USA on Oct. 6; China confirmed this past weekend for Oct. 29), it will be the biggest 007 movie ever, literally. That’s because this is the first Bond film to feature scenes shot with IMAX cameras… (continue reading below 20-sec video of IMAX cameras in use during scene where Bond woman Ana de Armas aiming gun near camera)
Using IMAX cameras means that those who see it in IMAX theaters will not only be watching it on a far bigger screen than a traditional theater but will also see up to 40% more image in many of the most dynamic shots. (continue reading…)
At two-hours and 43-minutes, “No Time to Die” is by far the longest Bond movie ever made (15-minutes longer than the previous longest, Spectre), and a whopping 40-minutes of scenes were filmed for the first time using IMAX 15/70mm film cameras. When presented on various-size IMAX screens, those scenes will suddenly seem even more eye-popping as the projected image increases by at least 26%, from the typical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 up to the taller 1.90:1 in the smallest IMAX theaters, and 1.40:1 in certain select IMAX locations worldwide, according to a spokesman for IMAX. (continue reading…)
Giant IMAX screens can be more than 95-feet tall, about eight stories high at theaters in San Francisco (AMC Metreon), New York (AMC Lincoln Square) and the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, and they are not limited to major cities in the US. A relatively new $30 million IMAX theater in Waukee, Iowa is one of the country’s largest at seven stories tall (nearly 85-feet high x nearly 49-feet wide). Built and operated by Iowa-based theater chain Fridley Theaters, The Palms Theatres & IMAX is one of the few in the U.S. to feature reclining seats in its 316-seat IMAX auditorium. (continue reading…)
AMC typically schedules an “Early Access Screening” of major new releases in its AMC IMAX theaters on the Thursday night prior to the Friday opening in non-IMAX theaters. Although the official U.S. release date for “No Time to Die” is Friday, Oct. 8, late last week most every theater chain began selling tickets to showings of “No Time to Die” scheduled for as early as Thursday afternoon, Oct. 7. So, AMC IMAX has moved up its Early Access Screening of the film to Wednesday evening, Oct. 6.
“No Time to Die” was originally targeted to debut in fall 2019 but a change in director and a revision of the script delayed the release until the first officially-announced release date in February 2020. Unfortunately, that date was pushed back by seemingly harmless two months to April 2020, which turned out to be exactly when the pandemic hit and theaters worldwide were shut down in March 2020. Additional attempted releases that fall, and April 2021 also had to be abandoned due to surges in the COVID-19 coronavirus, resulting in the world premiere now set in London a week from now on Sept. 28, 2021.
By Scott Hettrick
