Movie Theaters To Add 3-Screen Immersion In Battle Against Netflix

The latest attempt by theaters to thwart off Netflix is by adding not just one new screen, but two.

The ScreenX three-screen system has been a big hit in South Korea since 2012, and now Cineworld is launching 100 new screens in the U.K (via CBS News). The hope is that adding this extra element will entice movie fans to head out to the theater more for a one of a kind experience, something that theoretically you could reproduce at home but not without a large space and significant financial means.

This is the latest move by theaters to battle the rise of streaming services, namely Netflix. Intenet video revenue is the fastest growing part of the entertainment industry, and its annual growth of 6% is envied by cinema, which has an expected drop of 1.2%. Cineworld describes the ScreenX experience as making “you feel like you’re sitting in the action.” If it can deliver on that, perhaps it can help theaters gain an upper hand again.

“We’re really confident that by offering customers as much choice as possible that it’s going to bring people into the cinemas,” says Kelly Drew, an operations director at Cineworld.

For those who aren’t familiar with what ScreenX does, it is a multi-projection system that fills each theater with three screens. While the core action takes place on the one in the middle, the other two screens expand those scenes but aren’t just extra screen room for filmmakers.

As you can see in ScreenX’s demo video, they also allow filmmakers to use them in creative ways, like the example used when a girl looks through an object. The other two screens highlight the effect, and a bevy of directors could find interesting ways to implement the technology.

You can find the official description of ScreenX’s technology from their website below.

“ScreenX is the first in the world to combine multi-projection technology with theater screen and project images on the outside wall of the front screen to create a new immersion experience for the audience. The ScreenX team has developed an integrated system, ScreenX Solution, that combines hardware and software, based on CGV’s expertise in theater systems, operation and installation know-how, and user experience analysis capabilities. ScreenX Solution is a technology that synchronizes all the functions from screening DB analysis to image correction, playback and management, and synchronizes them with existing digital cinema system.”

Will this get you back into theaters more often? Let us know in the comments!