Escapism has always been one of the biggest draws of cinema. Whether an audience just wants to hang out with a couple of funny people and laugh at their jokes for 90 minutes or get sucked into a 120 minute-long space opera complete with starship battles, the closer a person can get to the movie world in a theater, the better. Enter the new theater technology known as 4DX, which, for the first time ever, was used in the U.S. this past weekend. The chairs are set upon gimbals to move around and shake, theaters can replicate various smells, and the seats are even programmed to blow air and water on the audience. All of this is synced up with the events up on the big screen.
And what better way to test out the new technology than with one of the most spectacular, action-packed movies that have been released so far this year? The first ever 4DX screening in the United States was of Marvel Studios' Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and from Yahoo!'s description it sounds like one hell of a ride. The article mentions events like air blowing in your face as Black Widow's fired bullets fly across the screen, quick chair jolts as Captain America throws his shield around to take down bad guys, and even a little splash as Nick Fury drives through a puddle.
Yahoo! has the scoop on the new specialty screening format, which was just recently installed at the Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 in Downtown Los Angeles - the first of many planned locations. Created by the South Korean company CJ 4DPlex, the technology works by engaging all five of a persons senses while watching a movie.
For a detailed breakdown of exactly how it all works, watch the video below. I would highly recommend skipping past the intro and going straight to the 2:10 mark, which is when it begins to break down the various sensory stimulants that are available during a 4DX screening.
t's a shame there probably wasn't an opportunity to use the bubble effect during Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
If you want to try out 4DX for yourself, know that it will cost you a pretty penny. At the LA Live - which is admittedly a pretty expensive theater normally - a ticket for a 4DX screening of Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction will run you $26.75 per ticket ($8 more than a standard 3D ticket).
While I'm not looking forward to paying that tab, I will say that I am curious about testing 4DX at least once. While it may not necessarily be the future of cinema, it could at the very least be a fun way to see an action flick. For more information about the company and when a theater might be coming to a location near you, head over to 4DX's official website.
"Captain America 2" raked in $7.3 million during its run from April 3 to May 30 as box office revenue was up nearly 12 percent from the first six months of 2013.
Disney/Marvel Studios has topped the Hong Kong box office yet again, with its Captain America 2 coming in at No. 1 for the first half of 2014.
Captain America 2 raked in $7.3 million during its run from April 3 to May 30, according to Hong Kong Box Office Ltd., a subsidiary of Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association and Hong Kong Theatres Association. The sequel was followed by The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in second place, which took in $7 million; and in third place, X-Men: Days of Future Past, which took in $6.5 million.
But these records might be short-lived, as Transformers: Age of Extinction amassed $5.6 million from June 26-30.
The highest grossing Hong Kong movie in the first six months of the year was Golden Chickensss, starring Sandra Ng and a number of local stars, which took in $5.3 million from January to March.
Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, trails behind, with $4.9 million in sixth place.
The total number of films released during the first six months of the year in Hong Kong was 159, with 25 local films and 134 foreign imports.
The total box office was $110 million, an 11.8% increase from the same period last year, in which the total gross was $98.5 million.
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3 months later and still slaying. Would you pay that hefty ticket price to see a movie in 4DX?
