AMC will have 100 Dolby Cinema at AMC screens by the end of 2017 with plans to build 60 more by the end of 2018. A senior AMC executive made that announcement during a press screening held recently at AMC’s 25 Theatres in midtown Manhattan.
According to Cynthia Pierce, AMC senior vice president, facilities/sight & sound, all of those screens will be in North America. She said the exhibitor currently has 33 Dolby Cinema at AMC screens and expects to reach 50 by the end of this year. “Obviously, we’re pleased with the results,” she said.
The feature film screened that evening was Dr. Strange.
Dolby Cinema was awarded the 2015 Red Dot Award for product design and Stuart Bowling, Dolby Laboratories director, content and creative relations, described the design and technology that goes into a theatre.
He said the interiors are painted matte black to better control ambient light but the visual experience begins in the hallway leading to the auditorium. There, a large video wall projects images from the main feature to be presented and enhances the immersive experience.
All Dolby Cinemas have floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall screens and leather reclining seats. The Dolby Cinema at AMC screen in AMC 25 Theatres is 78 feet wide. Pierce said that is one of the largest in the chain.
The projectors, which are made by Christie to Dolby specifications, deliver 31.5-foot lamberts. It includes Dolby Atmos sound technology, which moves audio around the theatre, even overhead, with amazing richness and depth. The combination of Dolby technologies with the design and comfort of the Dolby Cinema makes audiences feel closer to the onscreen action.
In 2015, the Dolby Vision laser projector received an engineering excellence award from the Hollywood Post Alliance. Dolby Atmos has received technical achievement awards from both the Hollywood Post Alliance and the Cinema Audio Society.
Nearly 300 Dolby Cinema sites have been installed or committed to across the globe, with 57 titles released or announced.