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"Everything counts a little more than we think..."

18 June 2012 Monday

Screen sizes and seating capacity at DC-area Smithsonian IMAX Theaters

slated in as so at 11:11 pm

A comparison of TRUE-IMAX screens in the Washington DC area:


Samuel Johnson IMAX at Natural History Museum Screen Size: 66 ft x 90 ft, Number of Seats: 474
Udvar-Hazy Airbus IMAX at Air & Space, Chantilly VA Screen Size: 62 ? ft x 85 ? ft, Number of Seats: 479
Lockheed Martin IMAX at Air & Space, DC Screen Size: 55 ? ft x 75 ? ft, Number of Seats: 487

Same data, friendly chart:

Location and
Theater Name 		Screen Size Number of Seats
Natural History Museum
Samuel Johnson IMAX 		66 ft x 90 ft 474
Air & Space, Chantilly VA
Udvar-Hazy Airbus IMAX 		62 ? ft x 85 ? ft 479
Air & Space, DC
Lockheed Martin IMAX 		55 ? ft x 75 ? ft 487

This was important data gathered in the course of preparations for final Batman film. “It’s the end of an era.” Udvar-Hazy has been my favorite (easy parking, no metro access) but next time around (after Batman) I’ll give Natural History IMAX a try.
These three are TRUE-sized IMAX screens. (This happened to me with Avatar. Grrrr.)

* Btw, NYTimes article: How the Dark Knight Rises Makes Use of IMAX (via AN)

Comments on Screen sizes and seating capacity at DC-area Smithsonian IMAX Theaters

  1. david

    wow, for some reason I thought the Udvar-hazy one was bigger than Natural History, I went to natural history more recently so I remember it better; is the seating arranged better at udvar hazy, or is it just less crowded? what are the pros/cons?

    commented Tue 03 Jul 2012, 5:12:50 AM :: link
  2. Alicson

    I have not been to the Natural History one in years, and it was not for a blockbuster movie so I don’t have that experience to compare. I would like to check it out, though.

    I find Udvar-Hazy convenient in terms of parking (though it may be a bit of a drive, but how often do you go out to watch true-IMAX movies anyway?), and they have a whole room outside the theater doors that you can lounge in (on the floor) waiting with friends or a book or games on your phone (no phone/internet reception though; underground). Bathrooms are easy to get to (and everything is clean and pretty).

    The biggest drawback I would say is that there is no eating allowed at Udvar-Hazy (since it’s a museum); I thought I heard that Natural History does have popcorn for their theater? but I’m not sure..

    I would guess it’s less crowded since it is not as accessible/well-known as downtown DC theaters, but the theaters tend to fill up/sell out nonetheless.

    commented Tue 17 Jul 2012, 9:14:59 PM :: link
  3. George

    is air and space good for the dark knight rises? is it really small compare to natural history?

    commented Wed 18 Jul 2012, 5:25:14 AM :: link
  4. Alicson

    @George Well, you can see dimensions above for comparison. It’s still pretty significantly larger/better in size and screen/image quality from other theaters.

    commented Wed 18 Jul 2012, 7:52:45 PM :: link
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