Going big: MJR Theatres bringing IMAX screen to downriver area this fall

The movies are getting bigger at MJR in Southgate.

The 20-screen multiplex will be debuting an IMAX screen this fall, MJR announced Tuesday. The screen will feature IMAX Laser projection in a theater equipped with reclining chairs.

"Our partnership with IMAX is the next step in our evolution to continuously providing our guests the ultimate movie experience," Joel Kincaid, vice president of operations for MJR Theatres, said in a release. "While IMAX has been expanding across the globe it’s been well over a decade since an IMAX has opened in Metro Detroit. MJR is proud to bring IMAX to our downriver communities and provide the only IMAX fitted with recliners in Metro Detroit."

IMAX is a premium film technology with oversize screens and immersive projection and sound. There are several screens in Metro Detroit that feature IMAX, including Cinemark in Ann Arbor, AMC Theatres in Livonia, Sterling Heights and Auburn Hills, and the Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre at the Michigan Science Center in Detroit.

Of those, only the Science Center is considered to be true IMAX, featuring 70mm film projection, while the others are digital IMAX, a workaround with bigger-than-normal screens but not IMAX as it was originally intended to be seen.

The Henry Ford theater in Dearborn, once touted as "Michigan's largest screen," hasn't been an IMAX theater since 2016.

The dimensions and specifics of the Southgate theater's IMAX screen were not known as of press time. Theater operators plan to debut the new screen in time for the release of "The Marvels" on Nov. 10, according to a company spokesperson.

MJR intends to bring IMAX to more theaters in Metro Detroit "in the near future," according to a release.

agraham@detroitnews.com