Brand New Day’ Officially Ditches IMAX for ScreenX in New Teaser

IMAX could have another bold premium format to contend with on MCU productions. The long-running superhero franchise has always leaned into releasing its massive blockbusters on premium screens, with the IMAX drama surrounding Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3 in December garnering headlines. Now, with the production of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel looks to be leaning into ScreenX in a bold way that has never been done before.

What is ScreenX? For those who haven’t seen the unique premium format, it uses ceiling-mounted projectors in the auditorium that project images onto the walls, extending the action on screen. If you would normally see someone disappear out of frame as the camera pans away, that person is now in the footage on the wall, allowing audiences to take in the film with a 270-degree panoramic view. Those images playing along the walls of the movie theater are generally digital extensions of the scene. What ScreenX and Marvel did with Spider-Man: Brand New Day changes things entirely, as ScreenX was actually on set, filming the footage that will play on the walls during the movie. Therefore, Brand New Day won’t have digital extensions, but will feature actual set footage to enhance the experience.

ScreenX shared the trailer on YouTube, showing off how the film will look in the format. Director Destin Daniel Cretton notes that it’s “something truly unique,” saying, “CJ 4DPLEX and their team came to the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day to shoot footage that you will experience specifically for ScreenX auditoriums.” Jun Bang, CEO, CJ 4DPLEX, says:

“Shot for SCREENX represents an exciting evolution for our format. By working closely with Sony Pictures and Destin Daniel Cretton, and by utilizing our proprietary SCREENX production tools and presentation technology, we are able to expand the film’s visual canvas while preserving the director’s creative vision. Our goal is to create a more encompassing experience that brings audiences closer to the story, the action, and the world of Spider-Man.”

ScreenX has continued to build its brand in the premium theatrical distribution market alongside notable names like IMAX and 4DX. The format doesn’t have the same footprint, but it continues to find new ways to expand, with the company’s Spider-Man push being the first step in a huge change. However, the format still has a ways to go before it can usurp other recognizable experiences.

As someone who spent years managing a movie theater with a ScreenX auditorium, I have a distinct perspective on the format. There are films where the extra picture along the walls was an exceptional addition, with Top Gun: Maverick and Daniel Craig’s No Time to Die making great use of it. I thought No Time to Die, using the wall footage to propel the audience through James Bond’s iconic gun barrel, was a truly unique viewing experience. The drawback is that the footage on the walls generally only appears during action sequences. That means during conversations or slower sections, the walls go dark. This was routinely an issue, with audiences informing our staff that something had broken. Spider-Man: No Way Home was a particularly rough case that featured a very long section with no pictures on the walls.

ScreenX’s push to embrace on-set filming is a great shift for the format, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day being a fantastic release to begin with. If Marvel continues to push for ScreenX’s on-set involvement in future productions, it will bolster the premium format and help it take audiences in bold new directions. The downside is that there are currently about 140 ScreenX locations across the United States, making it hard to find theaters with the format.