IMAX (short for Image MAXimum) is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation. The traditional version of IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems. A standard IMAX screen is wide and high, but can be larger.

IMAX is the most widely used system for large-format, special-venue film presentations. As of April 2009, there are 320 IMAX theatres in 42 countries (65% of these are located in Canada and the United States). About 60% of these are commercial theatres with the other 40% being located in educational venues.

Variations of the traditional IMAX format include IMAX Dome (using a tilted dome screen) which is sometimes called OmniMAX, IMAX 3D and IMAX Digital. The largest IMAX Dome screen in the world is in Big Cinemas IMAX in Mumbai, India with a screen area of 1,180 m² (12,700 sq ft). The largest rectangular IMAX screen in the world is located at IMAX Theatre Sydney 1 in Sydney, Australia, sized 1,051 m² (11,315 sq ft).

History

The desire to increase the visual impact of film has a long history. In 1929, Fox introduced Fox Grandeur, the first 70 mm movie format, but it quickly fell from use. In the 1950s, CinemaScope (introduced in 1953) and VistaVision (1954) widened the image projected from 35 mm film, and there were multi-projector systems such as Cinerama (1952) for even wider presentations. While impressive, Cinerama was difficult to set up, and the seams between adjacent projected images were difficult to hide.

The IMAX system was developed by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Nicholas Mulders, and William C. Shaw.

During Expo 67 in Montreal, In the Labyrinth, their multi-projector giant-screen system had a number of technical difficulties that led them to design a single-projector/single-camera system. Tiger Child, the first IMAX film, was demonstrated at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX system was set up in Toronto at Ontario Place in 1971, and is still in operation. During Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington, a very large IMAX screen that measured 90 x 65 ft (27.3 x 19.7 m) was featured in the US Pavilion (the largest structure in the expo). About 5 million visitors viewed the screen, which covered a person's total field of vision when looking directly forward. This easily created a sensation of motion for nearly everyone, and motion sickness in a few viewers. However, it was only a temporary screen for the six-month duration of the Expo. Several years later, a standard size IMAX screen was installed, and is still in operation at the renamed "Riverfront Park IMAX Theatre." IMAX screens are made of a steel-like metal material.

The first permanent IMAX Dome installation, the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center, opened in San Diego's Balboa Park in 1973. The first permanent IMAX 3D theatre was built in Vancouver, British Columbia for Transitions at Expo '86, and is still in use. It is located at the tip of Canada Place, a Vancouver landmark.