Disney Offers Hollywood Studios an Alternative to IMAX
Disney has proposed that Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Sony switch to the Infinity Vision format. About 5,500 screens meet its requirements — three times more than the IMAX network, Bloomberg reports.
Walt Disney has proposed that Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Lionsgate Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment switch to a new large-format standard, Infinity Vision, which the industry is already calling IMAX's main competitor. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing informed sources.
The studios responded positively to Disney's initiative, the agency's interlocutors noted. However, some of them decided to wait: the companies want to assess the marketing effect of the premiere of "Avengers: Doomsday" in December 2026 before deciding whether to reformat their own production.
Why Are the Studios Hesitating?
Many Hollywood studios have worked closely with IMAX for years, and industry experts are confident: persuading them to restructure their production processes around Infinity Vision will not be easy. This involves not only shooting films in the new format, but also long-term contracts with distributors and cinema chains.
Disney's position looks aggressive: the company is acting simultaneously as a content producer and as the initiator of a new technical standard that directly challenges IMAX's dominance in the premium large-format cinema market.
What Is Required of Movie Theaters?
To receive Infinity Vision certification, theaters must meet strict technical criteria. Among them:
- screen width of at least 15 meters;
- Dolby 7.1 surround sound.
According to estimates cited by Bloomberg, about 5,500 screens worldwide meet these requirements. That is three times the entire global IMAX network — an argument that Disney, apparently, is placing at the center of its negotiations with the studios.
What Is Happening with IMAX?
Talks of an alternative to the IMAX standard are taking place against the backdrop of a possible change in the network's ownership. In May 2025, it became known that IMAX was exploring a possible sale. According to sources, the process is at an early stage, and the deal may ultimately not happen.
For distributors and theater operators, the dilemma is obvious: supporting two competing formats is expensive, and choosing a side at a time when the premium screening market is undergoing transformation carries the risk of making the wrong choice. The December premiere of "Avengers: Doomsday" will be the first large-scale test of Infinity Vision's marketing potential — and it is its results, as the industry expects, that will determine which of the majors decides to follow Disney.
Original: bloomberg.com
More from Екатерина Ларина
132 articles
Related articles
- Elvis Presley Song Rights Holders Demand $41.1 Million from Anthropic
- Pinduoduo and Anthropic paid Kazakhstan 8 billion tenge in taxes
- Disney Will Show Super Bowl 2027 Through the Eyes of Star Wars Characters
- Mom's Touch to Open 50 Restaurants in Kazakhstan with Shin-Line
- Prada answered AI slop with a pencil: 6 million views and mice in the style of Disney