You’d think putting dinosaurs on an IMAX screen would be a no-brainer. It’s the cinematic equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate — big teeth, bigger sound, and enough low-end rumble to make your seat vibrate like a 2001-era massage chair. But Jurassic World: Rebirth, a movie literally designed to cash in on prehistoric chaos, is skipping IMAX entirely. No 1.43:1 grandeur. No massive frame-filling roars. Just… whatever premium format happens to be left on the schedule.
And let’s be clear — this isn’t a creative decision. It’s not like someone at Universal walked into a boardroom and said, “You know what the dino movie doesn’t need? Giant f***ing screens.” This is a scheduling issue. A technical limitation. A whoops-we-were-late-to-the-party-and-now-Superman-took-our-seat kind of situation.
See, IMAX in 2025 isn’t just another screen. It’s a battleground. A flex. A digital red carpet for the biggest, boldest, loudest blockbusters out there — and Universal showed up fashionably late to a party that’s been booked out for months. F1: The Movie screeches in before it. Superman flies in right after. Both shot with IMAX cameras. Both baked from the ground up for the format. And Rebirth? Not even formatted for the aspect ratio. It’s like showing up to a black-tie gala in cargo shorts and wondering why nobody saved you a seat.
That’s not just a burn on Universal. It’s a sign of the times. Back in 2015, Jurassic World shattered records with over 800 IMAX screens worldwide. Dinosaurs were a guaranteed IMAX play. Now? That real estate is being snatched up by anyone who can afford the format — and, more importantly, respect it. If you’re not bringing custom aspect ratios, proprietary cameras, and a shot list designed with a six-story screen in mind, you’re probably getting bounced. Harsh? Sure. But that’s the price of premium.
And while Rebirth will still show up in other “fancy” formats — RealD 3D, 4DX, ScreenX — let’s not pretend those are remotely the same thing. 4DX is theme park cosplay. ScreenX feels like watching a movie in a fish tank. And 3D? We’ve all been burned before. IMAX is the standard, and when your legacy franchise gets booted off that screen, audiences notice. They might not even know why something feels smaller — they just know it does.
Here’s the thing that really stings: skipping IMAX isn’t just a missed opportunity — it’s a signal. These days, having your film debut in IMAX isn’t just a format flex, it’s a mark of intention. It says, We gave a damn. It says, We planned for this. When you shoot in full-frame, work with the aspect ratio, and fight for that IMAX slot months in advance, it tells audiences that you actually cared about how this thing looked and felt on the biggest canvas possible. So when a film like Rebirth doesn’t show up in IMAX, it doesn’t just feel like a business decision — it feels like a creative shrug. Like the studio decided “good enough” was good enough.
And let’s be real: moviegoers are picking up on that. They may not know what camera you shot on or how many microns wide an IMAX film print is, but they know when a movie feels big. They know when it’s tailored for spectacle. They know when it hits. And they absolutely know when something that should be massive ends up feeling weirdly… average.
Meanwhile, IMAX is out here cooking harder than ever. Over 1,800 screens globally. Laser projection rollouts. New 70mm projectors going up in places like L.A. Live — because yes, actual film is back in style, baby. And when it hits, it hits. Just look at Sinners, where audiences were driving hours to watch a movie on a format that most theaters haven’t used since Obama’s first term. Some locations were pulling $90K opening weekends on a single screen. You don’t get that from RealD 3D.
So what does this all mean? It means IMAX is becoming more curated, more exclusive, and more cutthroat. They’re picking winners. And if you didn’t shoot for the format — hell, if you didn’t even plan for it — don’t expect an invite. This isn’t 2018 anymore, when any blockbuster with a CGI budget could slap “IMAX” on the poster and call it a day. In 2025, if your movie doesn’t earn the format, it doesn’t get the format.
Jurassic World: Rebirth skipping IMAX isn’t just a logistical miss — it’s a creative red flag. A sign that in the arms race of spectacle, Universal brought a legacy brand instead of a bold vision. And IMAX? It doesn’t hand out participation trophies.
Hollywood After Dark 