Lubbock theater among best in Texas for 'Oppenheimer' IMAX experience

Alex Driggars, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
·2 min read

Christopher Nolan wants you to see his new film "Oppenheimer" on 70mm IMAX film.

But to do that, plan to drive at least five hours from Lubbock. And even if a road trip is in the cards, good luck getting a ticket.

The director told the Associated Press the IMAX 70mm format is the "best possible experience" to view the film — "The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled," Nolan said.

More: Christopher Nolan's new movie about nukes is 'the stuff of cinematic drama'

However, only two theaters in Texas — the AMC RiverCenter in San Antonio and the Cinemark XD and IMAX in Dallas — are screening the film in the film in IMAX 70mm, among just 17 in the U.S. and 30 worldwide. Screenings are sold out at both for weeks in advance.

If you don't mind starting a three-hour movie at 2:35 a.m., you might snag a less-than-optimal front-row seat in Dallas next weekend.

But even without local access to the IMAX 70mm film format, Lubbockites still have an excellent option — commensurably one of the best in Texas — to follow lead actor Cillian Murphy's directive to see it "on the biggest ******* screen possible."

Many theaters are screening "Oppenheimer" in the much more common, yet still high-quality digital IMAX format, but just seven digital IMAX theaters in Texas showing the film have screens measuring 70 feet or more, according to a recent Texas Monthly article, including Lubbock's Premiere Lux 16 in the South Plains Mall.

The IMAX screen at Lubbock's Premiere measures 39.3 by 70 feet, according to an online database that tracks large-format theaters. For comparison, the domed screen at the Science Spectrum OMNI theater measures 58 feet.

Where to see 'Oppenheimer' in Texas on the biggest IMAX screen possible

IMAX 70mm film

  1. Cinemark XD and IMAX — Dallas — 52.9 x 70.7 ft.

  2. AMC RiverCenter — San Antonio — 52.9 x 70 ft.

IMAX digital (70+ feet)

  1. AMC RiverCenter — San Antonio — 62 x 85 ft.

  2. Regal Lone Star 19 — Tomball — 45 x 71 ft.

  3. Premiere Lux Cine 17 — El Paso — 50 x 70 ft.

  4. Santikos Palladium IMAX — San Antonio — 44 x 70 ft.

  5. Premiere Lux 15 — Bryan — 40 x 70 ft.

  6. Premiere 15 IMAX — Temple — 39.6 x 70 ft.

  7. Premiere Lux 16 — Lubbock — 39.3 x 70 ft.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock theater among best in Texas for 'Oppenheimer' IMAX experience