Is PRIME better than IMAX? They're all great! Each format greatly enhances the movie-going experience. We encourage you to experience all three of our premium formats, PRIME, IMAX and Dolby.
A Laser light source provides substantially more brightness than a xenon bulb and allows IMAX to power its largest screens with even sharper and more lifelike images. This is significant for 3D because 3D glasses dim the image.
Is PRIME better than IMAX? They're all great! Each format greatly enhances the movie-going experience. We encourage you to experience all three of our premium formats, PRIME, IMAX and Dolby.
IMAX vs Dolby Cinema - Which is Better for Movie Watching
What is AMC Prime?
Sit back and see the difference in your movie experience with PRIME at AMC. Here, quality comes to life with invigorating sights, sound, and special comfort seating. It's everything you love about AMC-powered up for your enhanced enjoyment. Get Tickets.
Dolby theaters are also usually newer, so chances are it will be better maintained. But both Dolby and IMAX have better quality control over the sound and image than a standard theater. Dolby does offer a crisper, brighter image with deeper blacks than IMAX. But both IMAX with laser and Dolby look great.
IMAX enhanced versions are brighter and more impactful than 4K Blu-ray Dolby Vision presentations. Some say that 70mm print film is the best way to watch a movie, either in IMAX 70mm or classic 70mm.
As such, IMAX, ScreenX, and Dolby Cinema are your premium choices. If you're not sure which, I'd always default to IMAX, but ScreenX is the format that makes me intrigued to go check out the movie again for that additional width – especially if the director himself has given it the nod.
AMC Stubs A-List members can really get the most out of our Discount Tuesdays program. You can choose to waive your A-List benefit and get cheap tickets on Tuesdays (you'll still earn AMC Stubs reward points) or you can use one of your A-List reservations and pass on Tuesday benefits to the rest of your party!
Both Insider and Premiere & A-List members get a free refill every time they buy a large popcorn or reusable popcorn bucket! Simply show your virtual card or account number and receipt at the concession stand for your refill.
Prime screens are basically smaller versions of Dolby screens. They have the same recliners with built in subwoofers, most have Dolby Atmos audio, and many have dual digital projectors. The biggest downside is that they use the outdated RealD 3D.
Renowned director Christopher Nolan prefers to sit near the front, in the middle of the third row for cinemascope ratio, and slightly behind the center line for IMAX theaters. Experts suggest sitting in the center of the room, aligned with the screen, to centralize your field of vision and prevent strain.
It's a motion picture film format that offers a top-tier cinematic journey for your senses. It pushes the boundaries of storytelling and allows you to view the picture in detail, listen to crisp sound, and feel the action—it's watching blockbusters onscreen but 100x better!
With stimulating effects like water, wind, scent and strobe lighting that are timed to enhance what's happening on screen, you'll be truly thrilled in your seat. And speaking of your seat – it moves.
The screen is massive and specifically tall, built to fit the unique way the movie is shot. It can be up to 40% larger than a standard movie screen. The seats are angled to open your field of view an average to 70 degrees, while speakers are positioned to immerse you in sound.
The digital cinema IMAX projection system, debuted in 2008, is designed for use with shorter 1.89:1 aspect ratio screens. The system uses two 2K projectors that can present either 2D or 3D content in DCI or IMAX Digital Format (IDF; which in itself is a superset of DCI).
The most popular of the two, IMAX, has become increasingly more popular since its birth in the 1960s. IMAX is known for offering viewers more of the frame than regular digital formats, up to 26% more of the film to be exact. IMAX is now offered in more than 1,500 theaters worldwide.
IMAX theatre screens have a tall aspect ratio of 1.43:1 or 1.9:1. The screens can be 18 by 24 metres in size, with the largest screen in Leonberg, Germany, measuring 38.8 m by 21 m. The IMAX in Leonberg is also the largest IMAX theatre in the world, measuring 814.8 sq m in size.
The answer is in the sound. According to Steve Martz, a sound engineer at THX, the company responsible for the high-fidelity sound used in most cinemas, the best rows to sit in are two-thirds before the last row, counting from the first row of seats.
I've seen a few movies now in AMC prime, I was expecting to be blown away by it, but I wasn't, but it is a great way to watch a movie, put your feat up and put your seat back. Seats vibrate to the action, huge screen, and very good sound. It may not be worth the near 20$ price ticket but it's very good.
IMAX is more than just a movie screen – every frame of the film has been optimized for cinematic clarity, detail and scale. In IMAX, the film has been transformed to draw you beyond the edge of your seat and into a new reality.
Prime and Normal are the categories of seats inside the auditorium (in this case 3D Auditorium). Normal 3D is the category of rows of seats which is closer to screen whereas, Prime 3D are the few rows from top or farthest from screen.
