An immersive movie experience is coming to Regal Meridian 16 in downtown Seattle.
The theater will debut 4DX, which allows people to experience movies with all of their senses.
Imagine you’re watching a movie and the characters are walking through a rainstorm. In 4DX, you too feel the rainstorm with water droplets and wind vents coming from the theater’s ceiling. Your chair may even jerk if the back wheels of the car on screen spin too quickly on wet ground.
“It feels like you are in the movie,” said Maria Chung, 4DX senior marketing manager.
The technology uses two mechanisms – chair movement and environment – to create effects, such as weather, extreme action and movement, and sensations – even tickling.
“After you watch the movie in 4DX, you cannot go back to a regular movie, because it’s boring,” Chung said.
Chung said 4DX works well for action films and comedies, but don’t expect to see it with a drama.
“If it’s always just talking, it’s not worth it for 4DX,” Chung said.
Seattle is the fourth U.S. city to get a 4DX theater after New York, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Chung said 4DX plans to open 17 more theaters, but the company hasn’t decided where they’re headed next.
