Disney Targets Imax Dominance With Infinity Vision Push
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
The entertainment giant is pitching a unified large-screen certification to rival Imax and expand theatrical reach.
Walt Disney Co. is attempting to scale its Infinity Vision brand by pitching the large-screen movie format to other major studios, according to reporting from the Financial Post. Disney has held discussions with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate Studios Corp., Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures, and Skydance Corp.’s Paramount Pictures regarding the initiative.
Infinity Vision acts as a certification that consolidates various existing theater chain formats—including Cinemark Holdings Inc.’s XD and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.’s XL—under a single brand. To qualify for the certification, auditoriums must feature laser projection, a 7.1 surround-sound system from Dolby Laboratories Inc., and a screen width of approximately 50 feet. The Financial Post reports that roughly 5,500 screens globally meet these standards, a figure approximately three times the number of available Imax Corp. venues.
From a strategic lens, the push for Infinity Vision follows a scheduling conflict for Disney's upcoming release, *Avengers: Doomsday*. Because Imax has an agreement to screen *Dune: Part Three* from Skydance’s Warner Bros. film studio during the same opening weekend of Dec. 18, *Avengers: Doomsday* lacks exclusive access to Imax screens.
While some studios have expressed early interest, the Financial Post notes that others are waiting to see how the Infinity Vision marketing performs during the *Avengers: Doomsday* release before committing. The move represents a direct challenge to Imax, which has historically maintained a strong hold on the blockbuster market through proprietary cameras and technology licensing.