IMAX CEO has decided. The dominant movie in IMAX theaters will be Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, while Tom Cruise’s  Mission Impossible 7: Dead Reckoning gets only one-week IMAX running. The reason is the camera. Nolan shot Oppenheimer with real IMAX cameras (‘Filmed in IMAX’), compared to ‘Mission’ that was filmed on the Sony VENICE which is ‘only’ an IMAX certified (‘Filmed for IMAX’) camera.

It’s all about the camera, stupid

It was reported that Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 7: Dead Reckoning is only playing in IMAX theaters for one week. Why? Because it was kicked off by Nolan’s Oppenheimer. As Tom Cruise has got angry, and we absolutely can understand him, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond sheds light on that matter by stating to Variety: “I feel sad in a way we can’t accommodate all of them. I know ‘Mission: Impossible’ is going to be a really big movie. But Nolan has a special place in IMAX’s heart because he uses our cameras and promotes us. It’s not a matter of us saying which we can make more money on. I would hope after ‘Oppenheimer’s’ run, we can bring back ‘Mission.’” Hence, it’s all about the camera. ‘Mission’ was shot with the Sony VENICE and Z CAM, whereas Oppenheimer was shot with the MSM 9802 which can allow premium large format screenings, including IMAX 70mm which is in only 30 theaters worldwide. ‘Mission’, on the other hand, can be screened only on IMAX digital.

IMAX owes Cruise

As we reported previously by summarizing IMAX Q2 2022 Corporation Conference Call IMAX has declared that Top Gun: Maverick has brought IMAX to new heights, which means: Biggest Memorial Day Weekend Opening Ever on a Global basis for IMAX, 12th Highest Grossing IMAX title of all time at $98 million GBO and counting, 12% opening weekend indexing globally from only 2% of opening weekend screens, and 10th Highest Grossing IMAX title of all time in North America with 14.3% opening weekend indexing. We can conclude that Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick has given IMAX a crucial and needed post-pandemic boost. Thus, he deserves huge credit from IMAX. However, Cruise doesn’t shoot with real IMAX film cameras as Nolan does. Indeed, Nolan is an IMAX darling, as he shoots only with IMAX film cameras, and as Gelfond admits, he’s the number one promoter of the IMAX methodology and experience.

See both on IMAX

Make sure to catch ‘Mission’ while it’s screened on IMAX (digital) since the VENICE with its X-OCN looks incredible on the huge canvas, and Cruise knows how to deliver to IMAX screens (see TGM for reference). And for Oppenheimer? There’s no question here. Watch it on IMAX 70mm (if you can), and if not, on IMAX digital (explore the guide here). Both movies are going to look stunning. But yes, as we said, Cruise deserves more IMAX love.