Director Ryan Coogler’s vampire horror Sinners has taken the film-loving world by storm, exceeding expectations by grossing a whopping $6.35 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Partially shot on IMAX film cameras and screening around the world in IMAX 70mm, Sinners features a refreshingly original plot that includes Jim Crow-era jukebox joints, the fiddle-playing undead, and not one, but two Michael B. Jordans.
Ahead of Sinners’ theatrical release, Coogler, best known for creating major blockbuster hits like Black Panther and Creed, has been actively encouraging moviegoers to see the film in its intended format: On IMAX 70mm screens in 1.43:1 aspect ratio. For those unfamiliar with the term “IMAX 70mm” or its difference from regular movie screens, you’re not alone — IMAX 70mm is currently the highest resolution motion picture camera on the market, capable of producing a resolution of 12x18K (for reference, the resolution of the average movie or television screen is only 4K).
In other words, in order to see Sinners in its full, bloody glory, finding a cinema with an IMAX 70mm screen is the way to go. However, for cinephiles based in the Philippines, the hunt for an ideal cinema is not so simple. For one thing, there are only ten theaters screening Sinners in its intended format of IMAX 70mm: eight are in the United States, and two are in Canada and the United Kingdom.
The closest that the average Filipino moviegoer can get to watching Sinners in IMAX 70mm is by heading to cinemas that offer digital IMAX screenings. These include several SM cinemas around the country that offer the IMAX format, including SM Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA, SM Cebu, and SM Iloilo City. There is also the Vista Cinemas IMAX with Laser cinema at Evia Lifestyle Center, which boasts a type of IMAX experience that features laser projection systems and an updated optical engine that delivers increased resolution and crisper images.
While these theaters do not feature the large-format 70mm film projection used in select international IMAX locations, they still provide a visually immersive experience through high-resolution digital projection, a larger screen size than standard cinemas, and enhanced sound systems. For most viewers in the Philippines, this digital IMAX option remains the most accessible and high-quality way to experience visually ambitious films like Sinners.
