Indiana State Museum IMAX Theatre to show ‘Oppenheimer’ as director intended
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — All eyes are on the Indiana State Museum’s IMAX for “Oppenheimer,” which opens this weekend.
It’s one of 30 locations in the world that offers a very unique theatre experience.
Thousands of people will be pouring in at the Indiana State Museum IMAX to watch “Oppenheimer.”
“I grew up watching Christopher Nolan’s movies, so I think it’s a great film to see,” said Brownsburg resident Natalie Bennett.
IMAX manager Neale Johantgen is excited about the turnout.
He says they’ll be showing the movie just as its director Christopher Nolan intended.
“It’s really great to have a theater like this in the city to be able to play a film like ‘Oppenheimer’ on IMAX 70 mm film,” Johantgen said.
Johantgen says there were a lot of preparations behind the scenes to make it happen. He says the frames weigh more than 600 pounds, and the film is 11 miles long from the first to the last frame.
“Traditional 35 mm film and then our standard 70 mm film that has five perforations compared to the IMAX that’s got 15, we’re about 10 times the size of 35 mm and three times the size of the standard 70 mm, so that means more detail, a brighter image, and a bigger image,” Johantgen said.
Brownsburg resident Ryan Bond said, “It’s the way it was shot and filmed, and it’s just really impressive seeing it on that huge screen. It’s just an awesome experience.”
Johantgen says fewer theatres offer this kind of experience.
“Lots of other theatres that have things like this in the past as they moved to digital, they got rid of their film projector. It’s expensive to run and maintain, but we held onto ours,” he said.
Johantgen says more and more people are moving quickly to buy tickets.
Around 14,000 tickets have been sold, and at least six showings are sold out.
Johantgen says there will be moviegoers visiting from across the country, and sometimes they’ll pull out the red carpet to add to that Hollywood experience.
Chicago resident AJ Lance said, “I got tickets on the day of sale, and they were already half sold out. So we didn’t even get the seats I wanted, but I’m glad that we’re still here. We’re from Chicago, so we’re not even from here.”
Lance added, “This is a pretty big moment for film, especially being on 70 mm.”