So is IMAX the new 3D? With audiences just as likely to go to a 2D screening as one in 3D, it seems studios are now looking at IMAX as perhaps the next unique selling point for audiences. Christopher Nolan has been perhaps the biggest advocate of using the format for feature films, using the huge scale to solid effect in "The Dark Knight" and with even more planned for "The Dark Knight Rises" (whose prologue was shown only in IMAX theaters). And in case you missed it, "Batman Begins" is being converted for the format for the marathon screenings next month. And now another franchise is bringing those fancy cameras on to the set.
THR reports that "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" will have Francis Lawrence shooting certain sequences in the format, and that's about all there is for now. "The Hunger Games" itself had an IMAX version when it hit theaters earlier this year, but shooting in the format will certainly make it a more attractive prospect for those looking to shell out the extra bucks for a ticket. And clearly, Lionsgate isn't too concerned about keeping some kind of visual conformity across the trilogy of films (and this probably means the shaky came of Gary Ross won't be utilized).
Still lots more to come from 'Catching Fire,' including the casting of Finnick Odair and Plutarch Heavensbee. The movie will open on November 22, 2013.