CHARLOTTE — Christopher Nolan’s atomic thriller “Oppenheimer” is opening in theaters across the country this weekend, but if you want to see every bit of the movie in its full resolution, you won’t find it in any North Carolina theaters.
The movie documents the physicist who oversaw the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Nolan shot “Oppenheimer” using 70mm IMAX film. You might have seen the headlines about the whole movie reel measuring out to 11 miles long, and there’s a reason for it: the 70mm film is absolutely massive compared to standard film dimensions.
The quality is noticeable for cinephiles -- Digital IMAX, which is the most common IMAX theater, has a resolution is 2.9K. True IMAX movies with 70mm film projectors have a resolution of 12K. True IMAX screens are usually much bigger than Digital IMAX theaters, as well.
Charlotte’s Discovery Place is showing “Oppenheimer” in Digital IMAX, and their 79-foot screen is probably big enough for most people in town.
If you want the full experience, your closest option is in Buford, Georgia, at the Mall of Georgia. It’s about three and a half hours away from Charlotte, but that’s only a little longer than “Oppenheimer,” itself.
For the purists out there, it’s not a bad trade. There are only 30 theaters across the whole world that are showing the IMAX 70mm version, according to Y.M. Cinema Magazine.
But if you’re up for a Barbenheimer marathon, there are plenty of theaters around Charlotte offering showings.
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