Denver's Regal UA Colorado Center was still unable to show “The Odyssey” in 70mm IMAX by Monday evening after its projector went down Saturday, leaving customers to discover the switch only at the theater.
Only 2 Colorado theaters can run the format, and the breakdowns reflect how fragile it is: just 41 theaters worldwide have the required 1.43:1 screen and 70mm IMAX projector.
Colorado Springs' Cinemark Carefree Circle canceled 1 Saturday showing before replacing defective equipment and resuming screenings later that day, while Denver's outage dragged on for days.
Customers who paid about $35 for 70mm IMAX tickets were offered refunds or a digital screening plus a free regular-movie ticket, with several saying no advance warning was sent.
The failures underscore a wider industry problem: new IMAX film projectors have not been made in roughly 50 years, parts are scarce, and IMAX had to train 130 projectionists for the release.