About whatisimax.com

This site exists because “IMAX” describes several different projection systems and room types, while ticket pages rarely disclose enough to compare them.

The goal is a useful answer for a ticket buyer and an auditable record for anyone who wants to check the work.

Method

The research was checked through 2026-07-31. Official IMAX filings and title-specific lists establish network and release facts. Venue operators, building owners, planning records, accessibility surveys, standards bodies, and technical trade sources establish local and engineering facts. Maintained community databases fill gaps where primary sources publish nothing.

The current dataset contains 300 venue records and 72 film records. It identifies 73 currently documented full-height venues and 43 currently documented film-capable venues. These are dataset counts, not claims that the broader venue table is a complete worldwide directory. Venue dataset

This database prioritizes venues with currently supported 1.43:1 capability, then covers many commercial venues in the United States and Canada and selected notable venues elsewhere. It is not a complete worldwide IMAX directory, and coverage is particularly limited for xenon-only multiplexes, Greater China, Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia and continental Europe. Equipment and programming change, so each record is dated and corrections are welcome. Venue dataset

Each venue carries its own source URLs. Official IMAX and operator material takes priority; community data remains labeled reported, and unknown values remain unpublished. Venue dataset

Confidence levels

How conflicts are handled

Primary venue or planning documents outrank copied listings. Contemporary sources can outrank later community copies when they directly document an installation. If two credible values still disagree, the better-supported one becomes the displayed value and both remain in the notes. Screen dimensions deserve particular caution because sources may measure the frame, usable image, or curve differently. See the sourced dimension table.

Known weak spots

• The general venue database is not complete outside its priority markets. Coverage is particularly thin for xenon multiplexes in several world regions.
• Some unusually large screen dimensions still depend on community records because operators do not publish technical sheets.
• Film minute counts are often rounded or disputed because distributors rarely publish frame-accurate change lists.
• The seating diagrams combine published room facts with labelled assumptions where full architectural sections are unavailable.

These limits are documented so that a useful partial record is not mistaken for certainty.