Fake IMAX Experience at AMC theaters

By Julia Hanes

Last night I saw Alice in Wonderland (awesome) at the 2nd Ave movie theater in NYC. I chose it because (1) it had “IMAX”, (2) it is next to my friend’s house, and (3) it is less gross and sticky than the Lincoln Center theater.

During the movie I felt like the screen was smaller but just chalked it up to the fact that the seating was different. Then, this morning my friend (total movie nerd) told me that I should have checked to see if it was a real IMAX. I didn’t know there were real ones and fake ones. AWFUL! Freakin $20 for a ticket to see something that’s only slightly larger. I know I’m not the only one who’s been financially affected by the recession, but that roughly equals two fancy lunches or 6 PBRs with tip. I’m annoyed.

After hearing that I’ve been duped, I found this and this posted on the interwebs. Most importantly, kudos to Aziz Ansari for blowing this story wide open.

Ok, ok, so maybe I’m the last to know. But whatever, I’m still enraged.

Ansari does a great job of summing it up when he says “Basically IMAX is whoring out their brand name and trying to trick people. These new “IMAX” theatres are really just nice digital screens with good sound, but they ARE NOT IMAX, in that they don’t have the huge 72 ft gigantic screen which people would expect. However, they still charge $5 more for tickets as they would for the regular IMAX.”. He then goes on to describe a hilarious argument he has with the Guest Services and Manager. But I digress…

The Big Screen Cinema Guide says that “Ansari’s mistake when he attended the movie was not to walk out immediately after seeing the size of the theater he entered. By watching the movie in its entirety and then complaining afterward, he had little ground to stand on when it came to wanting his money back.” Call me a trusting consumer, but the moment I entered an IMAX labeled theater I automatically assumed that I would be a part of “the IMAX experience”. True, I saw the smaller screen. Did I think to leave? No. Did I think my eyes were playing tricks on me? Yes. In fact, just now I queried my movie-going buddy and she agreed…she though it was because she’s used to sitting directly in the center, and not on the side where our seats were.

So, what can we do about it? We all know that Hollywood has made its mistakes in the past, and (fortunately) the consumer has had some recourse. (For the record, I watch A Knight’s Tale every time it’s on TBS). But in this case, Ansari (hilariously) tried to get his money back, to no avail. Note: Not the full cost of the ticket, just the big-screen-IMAX-experience surcharge. I want my five dollars back!! How do we band together to stop this abuse of the trusting consumer? Should we demand our money back en masse? Should we boycott? Or, should we post a group on facebook? Hey, it’s worked before !

In any case, heads must roll for this! (yuk yuk, get it? No? Sigh…)