What Does “IMAX” Mean?

We’ve all heard about movies filmed in IMAX, or heard in movie trailers “see it in IMAX” and then looked at a series of confusing diagrams depicting various aspect ratios and theater screen sizes (typically made by fans). But do you know exactly what “IMAX” means? 

IMAX means:

• large format film cameras
• but it also can means large format film
• but it also can mean a big digital camera

But IMAX also means:


• a very big theater screen
• but it also can mean a regular-sized theater screen (a.k.a. “LieMAX”)
• but it also can mean a movie on a home streaming platform that has the exact same pixel dimensions, data rate, file format, and encoding specs as non-IMAX content (“IMAX Enhanced”)

But IMAX also means:

• film projection
• but it can also mean digital projection

But IMAX also means:

• a tall aspect ratio (1.90)
• but it also can mean a different tall aspect ratio (1.43)
• but It also can mean a mixture of aspect ratios in a single movie (alternating between 1.90 and 2.35, 1.9 and 1.85, 1.43 and 2.35, 1.43 and 1.78, for example)

But IMAX also means:

• a movie that was shot with non-IMAX cameras (sometimes 2K, almost always digital cameras) that alternates between aspect ratios that plays in big or regular theaters) (“Filmed for IMAX™, most Marvel movies, the first two “Dune” movies, etc.)
• but it can also mean a movie that was partially shot with IMAX cameras and 2K digital or 35mm that alternates between aspect ratios that plays in big or regular theaters (“Oppenheimer”, “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol”, “Sinners”, etc.) 
• but it can also mean a movie that was fully shot with IMAX cameras that has a consistent aspect ratio* that plays in big theaters or regular theaters (“The Odyssey” is the first feature film ever to claim this, and *we don’t yet know if it will have a consistent aspect ratio or even what aspect ratio will be shown in regular theaters or home video)

But today, “IMAX” most frequently means a movie shot on digital cameras and mastered in 2K (and potentially uprezzed to 4K for certain shots) that sometimes has a taller aspect ratio, seen in a regular-sized theater.

So, it’s super clear what “IMAX” means.