Disney’s creating its own IMAX – because it can’t get the real thing

Luca Fontana

23.4.2026

Translation: Megan Cornish

Two blockbusters, one release date – and a studio suddenly inventing new formats to cover up coming second best. Welcome to Hollywood, where panic marketing emerges faster than a good film.

On 18 December 2026, two of the year’s biggest blockbusters will be released in cinemas at the same time: Disney’s Avengers: Doomsday and Warner Bros.’ Dune: Part Three. Two studios, one date and a question the entire film industry’s been asking for months:

have the people at Disney and Warner Bros. suddenly gone mad?!

Because what’s coming to cinemas this December is a Mexican standoff of Hollywood proportions that could end in a cinematic bloodbath. Both studios know that two mega blockbusters on the same weekend can hardly ever gross a billion dollars. Barbenheimer was the rare exception in 2023 that proved the rule.

Losing out’s likely to be painful. The risks for Disney are much bigger than for Warner Bros. if they’re both stubborn about the December release. Why? Disney recently invented its «own» IMAX format after Warner Bros. beat them to it – and is now being ridiculed for it.

Infinity Vision: brave or desperate?

Disney calls it Infinity Vision. Specifically, it’s a new certification programme for premium cinemas with large screens, laser projection and surround sound. It sounds like a true cinematic format. But it isn’t.

Disney’s actually certifying existing cinemas and marketing them as if they were completely new. Which is total nonsense. No new cinemas are being created, no new technologies are being introduced and no new recording techniques are being used. The only thing that distinguishes Infinity Vision from false advertising are the technical specifications, which are decent, if by no means revolutionary.

Some commentators in Hollywood have put it even more bluntly. «Infinity Vision might as well be called, ‹We’re Not In Imax But Please Buy a More Expensive Ticket to Watch Our Movie Anyway›», summarised the renowned Hollywood Reporter. Others wrote: «Infinity Vision Insults IMAX and Theater Operators».

And from X to industry blogs, the dominant reaction from cinema fans is essentially: «admirable effort, Disney, but please don’t take us for idiots.»

Ouch.

Why IMAX screens are worth millions

What was Disney thinking? Premium formats such as IMAX and Dolby Cinema have become some of the most important sales drivers for movie studios. In 2025 alone, IMAX earned a record $1.28 billion worldwide. No wonder: an IMAX ticket costs an average of $17.69 in the US – significantly more than the $13.29 for a standard ticket.

Securing the coveted IMAX screens for your film not only means more money per ticket, it also sends a message: «we’re the bigger event.» Which then attracts even more viewers.

Warner Bros. has won this battle before it’s even properly begun. Dune: Part Three has secured an exclusive IMAX window for its release. Avengers: Doomsday, however, will only be allowed to show in IMAX in a few selected international markets, not in the US or most other territories worldwide.

You can already see the importance of this IMAX deal in advance ticket sales: tickets for IMAX 70mm screenings of Dune: Part Three sold out within hours. This isn’t just IMAX money that Disney won’t earn. It’s a show of force, making it crystal clear to Disney that Warner has no intention whatsoever of changing its December release date.

As I said, a Mexican standoff. And the loser’s the first one to take a step back.

A Hail Mary called Doomsday

Disney could hardly have suffered a tougher blow. After the financially disappointing launches of Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four, Disney desperately needs a success story. Big Marvel hits have become the exception.

This is no coincidence. After the triumphant conclusion of the Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame in 2019, Marvel attempted to usher in a new era – and failed miserably. New characters including Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel failed to find a wide audience. Even established names such as Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange and Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic couldn’t fill cinemas.

Added to this was the Jonathan Majors fiasco. The man who was supposed to play Marvel’s next iconic supervillain, Kang the Conqueror, and fill Thanos’ shoes had to be removed from all plans at short notice following civil lawsuits for domestic violence.

Marvel then pulled the emergency brake, and not exactly impressively. Avengers: Doomsday is likely to be – to put it mildly– cheap nostalgia bait in its purest form. Robert Downey Jr. returns, but not as Iron Man – he’s iconic villain Doctor Doom. Chris Evans is also back. Even icons of the early 2000s such as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and James Marsden are reprising their roles from the ancient X-Men films.

The message behind it is as clear as it is ignominious: «We messed up. Please forget the last few years. Here are your old favourites.»

The big question is whether the audience will reward this. And that’s exactly why losing the IMAX battle against Warner’s Dune: Part Three is more than just a logistical defeat. It’s the worst possible time to fall short in the most important sales driver of modern cinema.

A label in response to a defeat

The idea behind Infinity Vision isn’t actually that bad. It’s true that besides IMAX and Dolby Cinema, there are other top premium cinemas that just lack a unified label, which means they aren’t recognised as such by cinemagoers. And the test phase with the September re-release of Avengers: Endgame gives Disney three months to establish the concept. That’s not a bad strategy.

But timing’s everything. And when a studio invents a new premium label shortly after losing the IMAX battle, that’s not strategy. It’s damage control. Whether Infinity Vision can make up for the missing IMAX millions is debatable. The fact that Disney’s trying anyway says it all.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.

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