There was a time when we would all rush to the movies to watch the latest and greatest, knowing full well the experience was not only better than at home, but that it could take quite a while for the films to arrive where you were most comfortable.

My how times have changed.

While that year of covid where we all spent more time indoors changed how many of us experienced films, and sent movies to streaming since in the past six years faster than ever before, there have been other reasons to eschew the cinema experience.

Much of it has to do with just how solid you can make the home cinema these days.

A dedicated room may deliver the best and most intimate moviegoing experience, but provided you have some room at home for a projector or a sizeable TV screen, a great sound system, and access to films on tap via steaming and the like, you can build a system that really delivers, all without setting foot in another cinema again.

It’s no wonder that cinema companies are having to think about how they approach this situation. About how best to develop a fix.

It’s also no wonder they’re thinking of ways to make the cinema seem exciting, different, and ultimately appealing once again. They’re looking for things you can’t do at home.

What you can’t typically do is recreate an all-encompassing and enveloping experience, the likes of which movies are supposed to make you feel, especially if you sit in the front row. That bubble of entertainment should swallow you whole, rather than simply be a picture on a wall, and that is what Hoyts is experimenting with in its “ScreenX” concept.

The idea isn’t out of kilter with what the Sphere in Las Vegas uses and what original Omnimax now Imax Dome systems deliver, with video that goes beyond flat, offering picture curving with the viewer, providing a more immersive experience. The Sphere clearly takes that to a new level, and isn’t the sort of thing most cinemas can do easily. If you have a VR headset, you might be able to watch movies in a similar way.

Hoyts’ approach isn’t quite the same, but will instead retrofit screens to the sides of some of its cinema screens, using the left and right walls and create a 270 degree panoramic experience.

The concept means the movie experience can be more immersive, and actually isn’t just adding screens to the cinema.

Rather, Hoyts tells Pickr that it involves specialist construction work with laser projection systems and image processing technology to not just add screens, but connect them together. Projectors run at a native 2K resolution, and interestingly audio doesn’t have to be touched, with no changes to the existing 5.1 and 7.1 sound systems already being used.

“What makes ScreenX unique isn’t any one piece of technology—it’s how all of these systems work together,” a spokesperson for Hoyts told Pickr.

“The combination of precision-calibrated laser projection, seamless image processing, premium Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound and a 270-degree field of view creates a cinematic experience that simply can’t be replicated in a home theatre. Rather than watching the action unfold on a single screen, audiences are placed at the centre of it, making ScreenX a truly exclusive cinema experience.”

Because of this complexity, Hoyts’ ScreenX technology isn’t one that will grace every cinema, and is set to expand from where it began in Melbourne Central and Blacktown over to Broadway in Sydney. However, the company notes it will be adding 12 ScreenX cinema auditoriums across Australia and New Zealand, increasing the number to 14 by 2028, with more to come.

“The response to ScreenX from audiences across Australia has been strong, and we look forward to expanding this premium experience across our network,” said Damian Keogh, Group President and CEO of Hoyts.

“Immersive cinema is the future of moviegoing, and these 12 new auditoriums are another step towards bringing that experience to more guests,” he said.

It’s worth noting that not every film will be made to work in the ScreenX approach. With the extra complexity of side screens and the 270 degree panoramic approach, filmmakers may need to factor that in. Without it, the side screens likely just switch off, and the film just becomes another standard flat experience (which there’s also nothing wrong with).

As it is, the latest Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has been “Shot for ScreenX”, which makes it compatible with the new cinema standard.

If that gets used by more movie makers, much like how Imax is used by specific makers to take advantage of an Imax theatre’s bigger screen size, it’s entirely possible going and watching a movie will be an even more interesting experience, and do something you definitely can’t do at home.