Dune Part Two is a highly anticipated new movie, and the opening date is just a few weeks. The movie will be shown in 70mm IMAX, which is actually a very rare viewing experience. There are only 9 theaters in the United States that host the Dune: Part Two 70mm Imax experience and San Francisco has one of them.
The AMC Metreon 16 will be playing the film in 70mm IMAX starting on March 1. While many film enthusiasts are well versed in different filming techniques and ratio aspects, the topic recently caught mainstream attention with the release of Oppenheimer this summer. The film was shot entirely in 70mm, which is a much larger screen than the typical. This means only a few select IMAX theaters were showing the film in the way director Christopher Nolan intended it to avoid a cropped viewing experience of the film. A TikToker and Cinephile @umamialex went viral for explaining the differences in 70mm and a typical viewing experience, noting the aspect ratio of 1:43:1 was nostalgic to films in the 1940s.
Dune: Part Two was not shot in 70mm, so the viewing stakes are lower if you can’t make it to an IMAX theater. IMAX is notable because it gives a higher-quality image, meaning more details are noticeable during the film. According to Collider, the movie was shot completely in Imax using digital cameras. Viewing a film on 70mm is typically thought to be a more “immersive” experience among film enthusiasts.
Dune: Part Two will start playing in theaters on Friday, March 1st. The opening showtimes for IMAX viewings at Metreon 16 on March 1st begin at 6:00 am for early birds. The remaining IMAX are at 10:00 am, 1:45 pm, and 10:00 pm on opening day. We recommend reserving tickets in advance if you want to watch in IMAX, as there is only one theater in San Francisco with that capacity. If you can’t make it to the Metreon, don’t worry; there are still plenty of movie theaters in the Bay Area that will play Dune: Part Two.