Are Large Format Celluloid Productions Becoming Mainstream?

For a long time, large-format celluloid occupied a rather unusual position in cinema.

It was never quite dead, but neither was it mainstream.

A handful of filmmakers continued to champion it. Christopher Nolan became perhaps its most visible advocate, while other directors and cinematographers occasionally turned to 65mm or IMAX film for particular projects.

But shooting a major production on large-format film remained an exception rather than the rule.

That may be changing.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has become the biggest IMAX release of all time, with IMAX reporting more than $289 million in box office. It was also the first feature film shot entirely with IMAX film cameras. (IMAX Corporation)

And now Marvel is reported to be shooting Black Panther 3 on film.

So I find myself asking:

Are large-format celluloid productions finally becoming mainstream?

From Auteur Choice to Commercial Proposition

For years, the argument for shooting large-format film was primarily creative.

The negative is large.

The image has extraordinary detail and texture.

The format has a particular way of rendering faces, landscapes and movement.

But there has always been another problem.

Why spend considerably more money and accept the logistical complications of shooting film when digital cameras can produce exceptional images with considerably more flexibility?

The answer increasingly seems to be that the format is no longer just a production decision.

It is becoming an exhibition decision.

And that changes the economics.

The IMAX Effect

The cinema industry has a problem.

Streaming has made it possible to watch almost anything at home, often within a relatively short period after its theatrical release.

Cinema therefore needs to offer something that the television in the living room cannot.

IMAX is one answer.

But there is an important distinction between a film simply being presented in IMAX and a film being genuinely designed around the format.

The Odyssey is an extreme example.

It wasn’t simply shot on a digital camera and subsequently released in an IMAX version.

The entire film was shot using IMAX film cameras, including a new generation of camera technology developed specifically to make this possible at feature-film scale. IMAX describes it as the first full-length theatrical release shot entirely with IMAX film cameras. (IMAX)

And audiences responded.

The film’s opening weekend generated $52 million in IMAX, representing 20% of its global opening weekend. (IMAX Corporation)

That is significant because it demonstrates something that goes beyond cinematography.

There is a commercial audience for films that make the theatrical experience part of their identity.

Premium Cinema Needs Premium Content

This creates an interesting feedback loop.

Cinemas need reasons for audiences to leave home.

Premium formats provide one of those reasons.

But premium screens need content that justifies the premium experience.

Studios, in turn, need films that can become events.

And filmmakers have discovered that large-format photography can become part of that event.

The format itself becomes part of the marketing.

“See it in IMAX.”

“See it in 70mm.”

“See it as the filmmaker intended.”

The technology becomes part of the conversation surrounding the film.

That is something quite different from simply saying that a film was shot on a particular camera.

And Then There Is Marvel

Which brings us to Black Panther 3.

Christopher Nolan choosing large-format film is perhaps not surprising anymore.

He has spent years championing it and has built a reputation around large-format theatrical presentation.

But when a major Marvel production chooses 65mm film, the conversation becomes rather different.

Marvel films are among the most commercially significant productions in the world.

If large-format celluloid begins appearing regularly in this part of the industry, it becomes much harder to describe it as a niche format used by a small number of filmmakers.

It becomes a production option that major studios are prepared to consider for mainstream franchise filmmaking.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that every Marvel film will suddenly be shot on 65mm.

Nor does it mean that 65mm will replace digital.

But it does suggest that the barriers to choosing the format may be changing.

The Odyssey May Have Changed the Conversation

It would be wrong to claim that The Odyssey caused Marvel to choose film.

There is no reason to assume that decisions on a production of this scale are that simple.

But the success of The Odyssey does demonstrate that large-format theatrical presentation can be commercially powerful.

It has also demonstrated something else.

Audiences understand the difference.

The scarcity of genuine 70mm IMAX presentations has become part of the experience. People are travelling to see them. Screenings sell out. Premium tickets command a premium price.

The format itself has become an attraction.

That is important.

Because for years the argument for film was largely about what happened in front of the camera.

Increasingly, the argument is also about what happens after the camera.

Film as Part of the Experience

This is something I’ve written about before.

The image doesn’t end at the camera.

Capture is only the beginning.

The negative goes to the laboratory.

It is processed and scanned.

The image moves through post-production.

Eventually it reaches a projector.

And then it reaches an audience.

Large-format film makes that entire chain more visible.

A 65mm or IMAX negative isn’t simply a different way of recording an image.

It creates a different relationship between production and exhibition.

The size of the negative, the size of the frame, the lenses, the cameras, the movement and ultimately the screen all become part of the same conversation.

Is It Really Becoming Mainstream?

Probably not in the sense that 65mm will suddenly become the standard format for Hollywood.

Digital remains overwhelmingly dominant, and for very good reasons.

But perhaps “mainstream” is the wrong comparison.

The more interesting possibility is that large-format celluloid is becoming normalised.

It is becoming an option.

A serious option.

A commercially defensible option.

And perhaps that is the real change.

Ten or fifteen years ago, the question might have been:

Why would you shoot a major production on 65mm film?

Today, the question can increasingly be:

Why wouldn’t you, if the film is designed to be a major theatrical event?

The Future May Be Bigger

I don’t think the future of cinema is going to be film versus digital.

It is much more likely to be both.

Digital will continue to dominate many productions because of its flexibility, sensitivity and efficiency.

Film will continue to survive because it offers characteristics that filmmakers value.

But large-format film may occupy an increasingly interesting position.

Not as a replacement for digital.

Not as a nostalgic return to the past.

But as one of the technologies available to filmmakers who want to create something that audiences have to leave home to experience.

And if The Odyssey can become the biggest IMAX film ever made, while major franchise productions are once again turning to 65mm celluloid, perhaps we are witnessing something more significant than a film revival.

Perhaps large format is finally becoming part of the mainstream.

Not everywhere.

Not for everything.

But enough that we can no longer call it niche.

Mark