Movies are about to wrap around you. ScreenX is the panoramic cinema format that expands the picture onto the side walls of the theater, creating a 270 degree view, and it has finally landed in the Philippines at SM Mall of Asia.
Here is everything you need to know about ScreenX, how it compares to IMAX, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and 4DX, and where to find it.
What is ScreenX?
ScreenX is a panoramic film format created by CJ 4DPlex, a subsidiary of the South Korean CJ CGV group, the same company behind 4DX. It presents films with an expanded, dual-sided, 270 degree screen projected on the walls of the theater.
Instead of watching a flat screen straight ahead, the action bleeds onto the left and right walls, putting you in the middle of the scene. You do not need special glasses. It is a bigger canvas, not a 3D gimmick.
The format has been around since 2012. As of 2022, ScreenX was installed in 364 screens across 37 countries.
How ScreenX films are made
ScreenX versions of movies are not just stretched. Films are either shot with three cameras to capture side footage, or converted in post production with additional CGI work.
That extra work is why ScreenX releases are rare for Hollywood blockbusters: generating convincing side wall imagery is expensive and complex. When it works, the effect is genuinely immersive, like the world extends past the edges of the main screen.
ScreenX vs IMAX vs Dolby Atmos vs DTS:X
These formats are often lumped together, but they do very different things.
ScreenX is about width. It expands the image to 270 degrees across three walls. It changes what you see.
IMAX is about scale. It uses giant, tall screens with high resolution projection to fill your field of view. The picture is bigger, but it is still one screen.
Dolby Atmos is about sound. It is an object based audio format that moves sound around and above you. It does not change the picture at all.
DTS:X is Atmos’ rival. It does the same object based audio trick, mainly found on 4K Blu-rays and select theaters. Like Atmos, it is purely an audio upgrade.
4DX is about motion. Seats move, rumble, and spray air and water in sync with the film. ScreenX and 4DX can even combine into a format called Ultra 4DX.
In short: IMAX makes it bigger, ScreenX makes it wider, Atmos and DTS:X make it sound better, and 4DX makes you feel it.
ScreenX in the Philippines
The Philippines’ first ScreenX theater opened at SM Mall of Asia, located on the 2nd Level of the Entertainment Mall. It is the first 270 degree cinema in the country, brought in through a partnership between SM Cinema and CJ 4DPlex.
Tickets are priced at around PHP 700, higher than a standard 2D screening, reflecting the advanced projection setup. The auditorium features premium recliner seats.
The ScreenX theater at Mall of Asia also pairs its panoramic screens with a Dolby Atmos sound system, so you get the wide picture and the object based audio in one room. Spider-Man: Brand New Day got its own official ScreenX trailer showing the format in action.
Is ScreenX worth PHP 700?
For a spectacle film, yes. Action scenes, car chases, and anything with wide landscape shots benefit most from the 270 degree canvas. The side walls turn a good action sequence into something that surrounds you.
For dialogue driven dramas, the effect is less noticeable, and a standard screen will do. ScreenX is a treat for the right movie, not a daily habit.
IMAX remains the better choice if you want sheer size and image quality. But if you have seen everything in IMAX and want something genuinely new, ScreenX at Mall of Asia is the most exciting way to watch a movie in the Philippines right now.
