Will New Spider-Man Movie Bring ‘A Brand New Day’ For ScreenX?

ScreenX provides a 270-degree wraparound cinematic experience using three projectors for an immersive view. While super-wide images aren't new, digital projection simplifies the concept. For *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*, ScreenX has introduced "Shot for ScreenX," integrating its format into the film's production from day one. This involves a dual-camera setup capturing practical footage for the side walls, augmented by CGI. The aim is to enhance immersion without distracting from the central narrative, achieved by carefully adjusting peripheral content with blur or reduced contrast. New ScreenX installations utilize laser 4K projectors for all three screens, ensuring uniform visual quality. Though audio remains standard, CJ 4DPLEX plans more "Shot for ScreenX" productions, aiming to elevate the format and attract audiences back to theaters.

ScreenX is the format that asks, why make do with one screen when you can have three? In addition to the main projector, it adds two more, to project additional images onto side-wall screens for a wraparound 270° view of the action.

The idea of a super-wide image isn’t new, of course. In the 1950s Cinerama used three separate 35mm cameras to capture wide images, and then three synchronized projectors to present the resulting images on huge, curved screens. It was a complicated, expensive process, and only seven feature films were shot using this process, so naturally it didn’t last long.

Digital projection makes this concept much easier to execute, of course. However, while ScreenX has been around for several years, it remains an interesting but niche part of the premium larger format mix. However, the The Odyssey fully occupying IMAX posed an issue for the Spider-Man: Brand New Day – so how to do something unique for the film.

The answer was to take a leaf out of the IMAX playbook to come up with ‘Shot for ScreenX’. This means that unlike all previous ScreenX releases, CJ 4DPLEX, the company behind ScreenX (and 4DX), has representatives on set with the filmmakers, helping them to integrate ScreenX into the production process from day one. The company currently operates 490 ScreenX screens across 52 countries. 48 of those screens are Ultra4DX, which combine 4DX and ScreenX into one—something I wouldn’t mind trying one day.

Curious to learn more about what it did for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I asked CJ 4DPLEX questions to learn more.

I was told that to achieve the ultra-wide footage, the production crew used a dual-camera setup, with a dedicated wide-format camera mounted directly above the primary production camera. This secondary camera simultaneously gathered environmental imagery and reference material for the expansive side walls.

The final ScreenX experience thereby incorporates imagery captured during production alongside visual effects created specifically for the expanded canvas, depending on the creative needs of each sequence. While previous ScreenX releases relied heavily on CGI for the side-wall extensions, now much of the material captured is practical, with CGI used to augment this.

One of the primary challenges of a 270-degree projection is ensuring the peripheral imagery enhances the experience without distracting from the central narrative. I was told that the duration and scope of these expanded sequences are dictated entirely by the creative needs of the film and are carefully selected to maximize impact.

The goal is not simply to bombard the viewer with additional information, but to naturally guide the eye toward the primary action. During post-production, any side-wall content that draws unnecessary attention—such as bright light sources, overly complex action, or out-of-focus characters- is adjusted or completely removed. By strategically utilizing controlled blur and reduced contrast on the peripheral walls, the filmmakers aimed to create a comfortable, deeply immersive environment that preserves the director's intended focal point.

While the images are expanded, currently that’s not the case for the audio, which uses the film’s standard theatrical mix. CJ 4DPLEX said it requires a minimum of 7.1 surround sound for its auditoriums, and while it said that Dolby Atmos is its preferred audio solution, no UK ScreenX theaters offer this. However, I was told that the company is actively exploring future opportunities to create bespoke audio enhancements that further complement the panoramic format.

Not every ScreenX theatre is the same, but every new ScreenX installation now uses laser 4K cinema projectors for both the center screen and the side walls, in 25,000, 35,000, or 45,000-lumen configurations, depending on the auditorium's size. This ensures the side-wall projection matches the visual performance of the main screen, delivering native 4K resolution, DCI-P3 color reproduction, and uniform brightness across all three surfaces.

To ensure the three distinct projection planes operate as a continuous, unbroken image, the system uses the SX-100 Show Control System, an advanced software platform developed by the same engineering minds behind large-scale immersive venues, such as the Las Vegas Sphere.

So, will we be seeing more ‘Shot For ScreenX’ productions? According to CJ 4DPLEX, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is just the beginning. It says it is actively working with more filmmakers and studios to adopt this native approach. That’s good news, as up to now, ScreenX results have mostly been underwhelming— I’ve only really been impressed with it for the movie Grand Turismo, where the side walls really enhanced the racing sequences. However, if ‘Shot For ScreenX’ results in more resources and more filmmaker involvement being given to the format as movies are being made, that can only be a good thing, giving punters more of a reason to leave the sofa and seek out a cinema experience that they can’t recreate in the home.