The Boeing IMAX theater, the biggest IMAX theatre in the state, has been closed since Feb. 1 and will be sold to a new owner: the Space Needle Corporation, the Pacific Science Center confirmed in an email Tuesday.
“PacSci will not resume operations in that theater,” the spokesperson said. “Once the transaction concludes, we anticipate that the buyer will make some renovations and reopen the theater as an IMAX experience later this spring.”
The question of what that “IMAX experience” entails will now be top of mind for Seattle movie lovers. Many consider the Boeing IMAX to be one of the best places to go see the biggest releases of the year, but staff who spoke to The Stranger are concerned that this new buyer isn’t interested in screening first-run releases of Hollywood films, like Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey. A spokesperson for PacSci said they will be showing Nolan’s film at their smaller theater, the PACCAR, but deferred questions about the future of film programming at the Boeing IMAX to the Space Needle Corporation.
In a statement shared with The Seattle Times, Space Needle CEO Ron Sevart said “we’re excited to partner with Pacific Science Center in continuing the availability of two IMAX theaters on the Seattle Center Campus” and that it will continue to operate as a movie theater following a "brief renovation focused on improving the concessions and arrival experiences, scheduled to end in May." However, he didn’t specify what movies or programming will be shown there, only saying “we haven’t explored any use other than as an IMAX theater.”
“While continued operation of the Boeing IMAX Theater is our short-term focus, we can’t wait to explore other partnership opportunities that support the future of Pacific Science Center and the Seattle Center,” Sevart said in a release.
Also speaking to the Times, PacSci President and CEO Will Daugherty said, “the economics of operating a movie theater have become increasingly challenging. It made sense for PacSci to include the Boeing IMAX Theater in this transaction.”
Can our movie theaters catch a break already? SIFF ended its lease at the Egyptian last year, the Varsity Theatre closed just last month, and the Grand Illusion is still looking for a new home. However, the Boeing IMAX is something different. It’s the region’s “only true IMAX,” as the theater’s website once referred to it, with a 1.42:1 aspect ratio AKA a massive screen. When Ryan Coogler’s stellar vampire horror Sinners swept the nation last year, it was one of only a handful of places in the country where you could see the film as the filmmaker intended. (Having seen the film, I can’t overstate how much of an impact this makes.)
Now, it’s an open question whether they’ll be able to experience anything like that again anytime soon at the Boeing IMAX. As for the impact the sale could have on employees, a spokesperson for PacSci said “we have not yet determined the impact on PacSci staffing.”
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story said that the sale was final. Since publication, the Pacific Science Center has clarified that the sale has not yet gone through, but is expected to.
