Film fans flock to see "Oppenheimer" in Sacramento, home to one of the few IMAX 70mm theaters
SACRAMENTO – Sacramento's Esquire IMAX theater filling up with film fans coming out to see "Oppenheimer" on the six-story-tall big screen.
Most blockbuster movies today are projected using a digital laser.
But "Oppenheimer" was shot on 70-millimeter IMAX film – and its director says seeing it in the larger format is the best possible experience.
Sacramento's Esquire is one of only 19 movie theaters in the whole country that still has a working 70-millimeter IMAX film projector.
"I think it's awesome and it's something that Sacramento should be proud of for sure," said one moviegoer.
But this vintage projector hasn't been used in years.
"When this baby cooks up, it's going to move five feet of film per second," said projectionist Peter Gabriel.
Gabriel is one of the few people who still knows how to operate it.
"When it goes to full power, it will go up to 400 amps," Gabriel said.
They've had to purchase new lightbulbs that cost $10,000 each and produce so much heat that chilled water has to be pumped through the projector.
"Because if we didn't, this would melt inside the projector," Gabriel said.
And because "Oppenheimer" is three hours long, the theater had to 3D print an extension to the edge of the projector's film reel.
"They were only six feet wide, and they actually needed to be 6'1" wide," said Doug Link, Esquire IMAX Theater's director.
Now people are driving from as far away as Redding and Lake Tahoe just to see it here.
"Two hours for me is no problem," another moviegoer said.
When it's unspooled, the film is 11 miles long and weighs 700 pounds.
"Oppenheimer" is playing at the Esquire IMAX through Aug. 10.