Seattle Center's Boeing IMAX Theater won't show features, for now
Seattle movie buffs were dealt a blow this week: The Boeing IMAX Theater, one of the few remaining such theaters in the country, won't be screening feature films for the foreseeable future.
The news was confirmed Wednesday by the theater's new operator, the Space Needle, which purchased part of Seattle's Pacific Science Center for $17.25 million earlier this spring, including the Boeing IMAX Theater, now named IMAX at the Center Theater.
While the 373-seat theater will remain active by showing short documentaries, feature films are currently not part of the plan, said Amy Cunningham, public relations director for the Space Needle.
"We maintain the right to offer feature films, but there are no immediate plans to show features in 2026," Cunningham said in an email Wednesday.
We're still in the early stages of this partnership and developing IMAX at the Center," Cunningham said. "The renovations and experience will continue to grow and evolve through the remainder of the year. Our short-term plans are to focus on IMAX documentary films, including 'Deep Sky' and 'Roll the Dice,' a film that has come together in collaboration with IMAX and Chihuly Studio. We expect to continue building out our film programming, which will be folded into the rotation over the balance of the year."
The theater closed in February for renovations scheduled to wrap up in May. An official opening date has not been announced.
Cunningham did not respond to questions about the renovations, concessions, ticket prices and other details, including the theater's official reopening date.
PacSci did not sell its slightly smaller, 325-seat PACCAR IMAX Theater, and will continue showing feature films and documentaries there.
IMAX is a type of "premium" film format favored by cinephiles and many directors because it's designed for optimal and immersive viewing with larger-than-average screens often multiple stories high, high-resolution imagery and unique stadium seating.
While many theaters may use the IMAX moniker, including in the Seattle area, the Boeing theater is the only one locally that has a dual 4K Laser projection system paired with a 60-foot-tall (or six stories), 80-foot-wide, 1.43:1 aspect ratio screen, allowing it to display full-frame, uncropped and high-res features filmed for IMAX, like "Dune 2" or "Oppenheimer."
PacSci's PACCAR IMAX Theater doesn't show films in the "classic" IMAX aspect ratio, as it has a 32-foot-tall by 60-foot-wide screen. In part because its screen has a different height and width and is smaller than the former Boeing IMAX Theater, some film buffs believe it's inferior. (PacSci President and CEO Will Daugherty said in a text message that, "While we know that some people only want the 1.43:1 ratio, we also know that many people enjoy IMAX feature films in Paccar. 'Project Hail Mary' sold out numerous times in there.")
IMAX 1.43:1 ratio screens are rare: A list published by IMAX in September indicates just eight theaters showed "One Battle After Another in the U.S. on this type of screen, and just 18 across the world.
While blockbusters like "Dune 2" or "Oppenheimer" were well attended at PacSci's IMAX theaters, data provided by the nonprofit this year showed that overall, revenue for its IMAX theaters has been declining due to decreasing attendance and increasing overhead costs.
Amid a wider movie theater industry contraction, good years like 2024 are becoming less common, PacSci marketing director Julie O'Mara said in an email this year. "And you can see that even with the benefit of those blockbusters, FY24 was lower than FY18 and previous years," referring to fiscal years.
Simply put: Theater expenses were exceeding revenue. While PacSci doesn't report results for its theaters individually, "if we removed gross profit for Laser Dome, we would see that gross profit for the IMAX portion of business was negative in FY23 and FY25," she noted in February.
PacSci, hoping to stabilize amid financial headwinds, officially sold the Boeing IMAX Theater (as well as other parts of its property) to the Space Needle a few months later.
Since the news of the sale broke, the two organizations had remained tight-lipped, except to share that there'd be a brief renovation focused on improving the "concessions and arrival experiences," which was scheduled to end in May.
Daugherty said the organization plans to continue showing features in the PACCAR IMAX Theater along with documentaries and special events.
"Plans will of course evolve as we seek to maximize impact in support of our mission and navigate toward economic sustainability," he noted.
"We fully support the choices that the Space Needle is making," Daugherty said. "And we recognize that their plans might also evolve over time. We look forward to seeing what they do and collaborating along the way."
________________
This coverage is partially underwritten by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The funder plays no role in editorial decision-making, and The Seattle Times maintains editorial control over this and all its coverage.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.