2026 has, without a doubt, been the year of IMAX. That’s due in large part to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which broke countless box office and IMAX records after its release in mid-July. But it’s not just The Odyssey. Films like Project Hail Mary and the year’s biggest blockbuster, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, played in the format, and IMAX theaters will be full through the end of the year, thanks to the final installment in the Dune franchise. In August, lines formed around the block at the AMC theater in New York City’s Upper West Side as people waited to secure coveted tickets to see Dune: Part Three in IMAX 70mm—even though the movie doesn’t come out until mid-December. 

But I would argue this fervor is misplaced. I would go so far as to say that IMAX is overrated. 

This trend didn’t come out of nowhere: IMAX has been on the rise in the past few years, as post-pandemic audiences are increasingly drawn to movie theaters for spectacle and eventization that can’t be replicated at home. In 2025, moviegoers flocked to see films like Sinners, One Battle After Another, F1, and the final Mission: Impossible in IMAX. The gold standard for cinephiles is the ultra-rare IMAX 70mm screening, which requires a projector large enough to play the giant 70mm film reels (unlike........

© Time