Imax launches in Luxembourg with Scorsese epic

Just in time for the release of Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated Killers Of The Flower Moon, Luxembourg has opened its first Imax screen.

Kinepolis Kirchberg has spent the last two months transforming its no.1 screening room to the Imax system, with a giant new state-of-the-art 4K laser technology screen and a 12-channel sound system. The resulting images are sharper and brighter, with deeper contrasts and a wider range of colours.

In addition, the seating was rearranged to fit the IMAX geometry specifications that allow every audience member to enjoy the same sound experience. And the screen was moved forward by around two metres to bring it closer to the seating, creating an even more immersive feeling.

Kinepolis had hoped that Dune 2, Denis Villeneuve's sequel to his 2021 masterpiece, would be the launch film for its Kirchberg screen. But the screen actors guild strike in the US has pushed back its release to March 2024. Like Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, Dune 2 was shot with Imax 65mm cameras.

For the first week of its operation the new screening room in Kirchberg will be exclusively showing Killers Of The Flower Moon, which has been digitally remastered by Imax.

Aquaman, Napoleon and Wonka

The following week the screening room, which now has capacity for 345 seats, will also be hosting showings of the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film. Other releases for later this year include DC Comics' Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Ridley Scott’s historical drama Napoleon and family adventure Wonka. 

John Schreiner, Imax senior vice president for theatrical development in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, who was in Luxembourg for the opening, said that the Kirchberg screen would be the only one in the grand duchy. 

IMAX now has over 1,700 theatres operating in over 93 countries and this year is installing at another 110 Imax screens around the world, Schreiner explained.

Imax works directly with directors like Nolan, who used the technology for Dunkirk, for example. "A lot of filmmakers dream about having their films in IMAX because we're consistent," said Schreiner. "They know that what the audience is seeing is what they intended to make."

Killers Of The Flower Moon, a 1920s crime drama based on a 2017 historical investigative book by journalist David Grann, may not have the bone-rattling soundscape of Oppenheimer, but the sound quality is still very impressive. And the giant screen and the increased resolution is perfect for Scorsese's exquisite vision of the source material and his impressive use of wide landscape shots of the Oklahoma plains and clusters of oil rigs. Scorsese is also a master of emotion and intimacy, and the bigger screen does nothing to detract from the more visceral moments in a story laden with ambiguity and nuance.

In the hands of genius filmmakers like Nolan and Scorsese, and with actors of the calibre of Cillian Murphy and Leonardo DiCaprio, Imax is clearly a format that is worth seeking out. On the biggest screen using technology to enhance the image and sound, their films are even more grand yet remain very human.

Ticket prices

As Schreiner points out, enjoying the best possible cinema experience comes at a cost but that does not deter audiences. Imax screenings accounted for some 18% of opening weekend box office receipts for Oppenheimer, but had just 1% of screens.

In Luxembourg, a "normal" adult ticket to see the IMAX version of Killers Of The Flower Moon - with a running time of over three hours - costs €19.50, whereas the Ultra Laser version in screening room 10 is priced at €16.70.

Kinepolis would not reveal how much they invested in converting the screening room to IMAX technology. But the opening of the IMAX theatre at Kinepolis Kirchberg is proof of its ongoing commitment to invest in the best cinema experience, Eddy Duquenne, CEO of Kinepolis Group, said.

"Cinema-goers increasingly expect more complete, more intense cinema experiences, and we know from our customers in Belgium - where we have an Imax theatre in Brussels and Antwerp - that Imax meets these expectations in every way."