After seven years, Sydney’s IMAX is reopening, just in time for Taylor Swift

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Seven years after it closed, Sydney’s IMAX cinema is reopening just in time for the Taylor Swift rush.

The Ribbon building between two Western Distributor overpasses is finally finished at Darling Harbour and the 325-seat cinema at its western base will start screenings with Avatar: The Way of Water on Wednesday.

Luke Mackey, Event Cinemas’ director of entertainment for Australia, at the new IMAX cinema in Darling Harbour.Credit: Steven Siewert

The opening week at IMAX Sydney includes Hollywood films The Creator and Oppenheimer, the documentary Superpower Dogs and, from Friday, the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.

With ticket prices starting from $19 for a documentary and $38 for a feature film – plus an extra charge for 3D sessions – patrons have the choice of standard, fully reclining and couples seats.

They can also splash out on a four-seat private box that comes with free nibbles in the cinema bar, a glass of champagne on arrival, the option of having food delivered before the film starts, a footrest and a blanket in case it gets cool. Tickets start at $299 for a feature film.

The W Sydney hotel, which has 588 guest rooms and suites, opens in the 30-storey Ribbon building on Thursday.

The two openings continue the revitalisation of Darling Harbour in less than a decade – one of the biggest urban redevelopments Sydney has seen – that includes the International Convention Centre, ICC Theatre, Sofitel hotel and an upgraded Tumbalong Park.

The next stage includes the construction of a 42-storey apartment tower with shops and offices on the site of the Harbourside shopping centre near Pyrmont Bridge.

The old IMAX cinema quickly became a landmark in Darling Harbour when it opened in 1996. It initially showed such giant-screen documentaries as The Living Sea, Africa’s Elephant Kingdom and Space Station 3D on what was billed as the world’s biggest screen.

As it expanded into Hollywood blockbusters, including Avatar, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, it was regularly in the top five IMAX cinemas around the world for ticket sales.

It closed in 2016, exactly 20 years after it opened, with the plan that a new IMAX would replace it in three years.

But construction of The Ribbon was delayed with the collapse of two builders, Grocon and Probuild. A third builder, Multiplex, took over to finish the project.

“It’s been a long wait,” Event Cinemas’ director of entertainment for Australia, Luke Mackey, said. “We’ve missed some great content which we plan on bringing back for people to watch in IMAX.”

While the old IMAX was a wide cinema with a relatively narrow band of seats, the new one is more traditionally shaped with a high bank of seats and a slightly curved screen that is 692 square metres.

That makes it slightly smaller than the screen at the previous cinema, but it is still one of the largest in the IMAX world.

The foyer of the new IMAX cinema at Darling Harbour.Credit: Steven Siewert

“It’s way better because of the dual laser projectors and the IMAX precision sound,” Mackey said. “So it’s a much better experience overall.”

IMAX Melbourne, which was completely booked out for weeks when Oppenheimer opened, has a larger screen at 736 square metres and it can also screen IMAX 1570 Film, the format that director Christopher Nolan prefers.

“From a purist perspective, there are some people that prefer film,” Mackey said. “Then there are some people that like the absolute crystal clarity of laser.

“There’s no degradation with laser. The film you see on day one is still the same film you see at the end [of the run].”

The new IMAX cinema at Darling Harbour.Credit: Nick Moir

Mackey expects the cinema to attract film fans from across the city, including school groups and tourists.

“It’s like a drive-in or 4DX [cinemas with moving seats and wind, fog, water and other special effects], people will travel for a special experience,” he said. “And people are going ‘I still want to spoil myself and have an experience where I can step out from what I’m doing day to day.’ ”

While the rising cost of living is a pressure on entertainment spending, Mackey believes Barbie and Oppenheimer showed that people will head to cinemas for the right film rather than watching a streaming service at home.

“We’ve come off almost a record July and August,” he said. “We were back to 2019 levels in that period.

“But it’s just about content. We’ve got great films, people are coming and we just need those films to keep coming.”

Mackey expects Swifties will rush to see Taylor Swift’s new concert film at IMAX, just as they have at traditional cinemas around the country.

“I plan on booking very quickly,” he said.

Email Garry Maddox at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @gmaddox.

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