Odeon And Dolby Cinema Join Forces To Take On IMAX

With TVs getting bigger and better and streaming platforms packed full of great content cinemas and movie studios are having to work harder to get people to choose the big screen experience. With the window between cinematic release dates and home viewing availability ever shrinking if it's not worth getting off the sofa and out of the house for, why would you bother?

The good news is that it seems to be working. In 2018, the British box office scored its biggest year since 1971, with eight films breaking the 40m mark compared to four in 2017.

Certainly, making movies that people want to see is a good tactic. A crucial part of it though is using new technology to differentiate the cinema experience from the home, where large TVs, 4K, HDR, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X mean the cinema has its work cut out to compete. (We won't even mention the arrival of 8K yet).

The third tier is the experience: unless you have a dedicated room, the cinema is still the ultimate place to immerse yourself in a movie – crackling crisp packets and glowing smartphone screens aside. When all three come together; a great film, projected well, in a great cinema, you've got a pretty fantastic night out.

In terms of the big screen experience, the last few years have been about IMAX, which has established itself as the ultimate cinema experience, with extra-large screens and huge audio proving a huge draw, with many blockbuster films filmed to make the most of the format. I'll cover IMAX various flavours another time, but its dominance is being threatened by a new arrival in the form of Dolby Cinema.

While Dolby Cinema has been around in Europe and the US since 2014 it only arrived on UK shores just before Christmas when the Odeon Leicester Square reopened its doors after a nine-month refurbishment. This was the first of six theatres that Dolby has said would be soon be coming to the UK.

Transforming the Odeon Leicester Square

With a history that goes back to 1937, the Odeon Leicester Square is one of the most famous cinemas in the country. With its prime London location and its previous huge capacity of over 2,000, it has long been the venue of choice for film premieres, from Star Wars to James Bond, to Harry Potter. With red carpets, royals and movie stars, it has become synonymous with movie glamour, only slightly spoiled by the presence of the public.

The interior of the Odeon Leicester Square uses 400 speakers to deliver Dolby Atmos audio


However, in recent years the cinema has become somewhat tired and in Leicester Square itself, the draw of Cineworld's IMAX laser or the Sony Finity projectors at the Vue were proving better options, not to mention the country's biggest screen at the BFI IMAX at Waterloo.

A major upgrade was needed, and Dolby Cinema combined with Odeon's Luxe brand should prove a powerful combination.

What is Dolby Cinema?

Dolby Cinema consists of three things: the Dolby Vision projection system (using Dolby 3D for, well 3D), Dolby Atmos audio, and a specially designed auditorium to maximise the audience experience.

Rather than conventional Xenon bulb-based projection, Dolby Vision relies on two Christie 4K 6P laser projectors, featuring a Dolby customised light path to deliver bright pictures with high dynamic range (HDR) pictures – or as close to HDR as is currently possible from a projection system. The system delivers brightness of up to 31-foot lamberts in 2D and 14-foot lamberts in 3D, which means that even in 3D, Dolby Vision is pushing out far more brightness that the average regular cinema screen does in 2D.

Therefore, if you've been permanently put off 3D due to the dimness of the picture at your local (and who would blame you), then Dolby Vision will give you a reason to try it again.

To recap, HDR refers to an expanded contrast range, delivering brighter images and deep blacks at the same time. HDR is now a mainstay for 4K TVs in the home (though only the very high-end models have sufficient brightness to do it justice) Dolby Cinema looks to match what can be experienced on top-end TVs in the home and even outdoes IMAX, which tops out at 22-foot lamberts in 2D. Dolby Cinema is also able to deliver a ‘true black' and a claimed contrast ratio of one million:1 – it is this that delivers the platform to deliver a huge contrast ratio that really enables colours to ‘pop' from the screen.


So while we might have to wait for huge MicroLED displays for cinemas to reclaim the technical high ground, but it's a step in the right direction.

Alongside HDR, Dolby Cinema is also capable of displaying far more subtle shades of colour than standard cinema projectors. the Rec. 2020 colour space, which means it's capable of displaying a far wide range of colours than standard cinema, (though, most films are still mastered to the smaller DCI-P3 colour space).

Along with Dolby Vision comes Dolby Atmos. Rather than being limited to the 5.1 or 7.1 discrete channels, Atmos enables the sound designer to place audio objects in 3D space – so sounds can seemingly come from anywhere around you. It can be found is many cinemas: Cineworld Superscreen, Showcase XPlus and Empire Impact screens feature it and it's already a mainstay of home AV receivers, so naturally, it's part and parcel of the Dolby Cinema Experience.

It’s not just the display element either. For a movie to look as good as can be on Dolby Vision it can be optimised for the format in post-production and for that to be worthwhile the data needs to be there in the original image, which is why Dolby Cinema mastered movies are likely to be shot on high-end cinematic cameras such as the Arri Alexa and Sony F65. This isn't a requirement though and any DCI movie can play on the system.

Dolby Cinema meets Odeon Luxe

Adding Dolby Cinema to this Odeon Leicester Square was a tougher task than doing so in a newer build as the designers had to create the cutting-edge tech while paying respect to the historic architecture of the cinema itself. Odeon also wanted to upgrade the visitor experience, so has combined Dolby Cinema with its own ‘Luxe' brand, which offers luxury seating.

A Dolby Cinema normally features a cinema curved video wall at the entrance to the screen showing content related to the film designed to draw you into the film even before it's begun. This isn't present at the Odeon Leicester Square though it does have a wall that mixes mirrors and images of the cinema's history that you can see this as you go up via the escalators to the second floor. In fact, how many cinemas have escalators?

Benny Har-Even

That indeed is part of the challenge of converting the Odeon Leicester Square into a state-of-the-art Dolby Cinema. Screen 1 retains the stalls and circle layout of the previous screen, and this split-level approach presented quite a challenge to the Dolby audio designers. To that end, the engineers fitted the room with an incredible 400 speakers. You can see them all around you, ensuring that everyone gets a suitable Atmos experience.

Much work had to be done for the screen too – it's movable to ensure that the auditorium can be used for functions such as awards and it had to be supported to enable this. Work was also done to ensure that the noise of the busy square outside did not infiltrate inside the room so as not to distract from the cinematic experience.

The seating has also been reduced from over 2,000 to ‘just' 800 seats. The upside of this is that every seat now has plenty of leg room. The ‘Luxe' seats also have backs that recline, footrests that rise up and tables that can be rotated in front of you to house the all-important viewing snacks. After all, to get people from their sofas and into London, you might as well bring the lounge to them.

Other touches that elevate the new Odeon Leicester Square from regular screens is the new open plan foyer with a funky drinks-dispensing machine, lots of tables for hanging out and upstairs the ‘Oscars' bar, with a view of the square. It makes the cinema more of a ‘destination' rather than just a cinema.

A pleasing small touch is how the doors to the auditorium have lines emanating from the handles showing the dates and names of all the famous premiers.

Classic premier dates are engraved on the doors at the Odeon Leicester Square

Additionally, the Odeon Leicester Square has had its four smaller screens refurbished, but only Screen 1 offers Dolby Cinema.

So how does it all hang together? Certainly, the Odeon Leicester Square has been transformed and it opened just before Christmas with Mary Poppins Returns. However, the opening had a rather negative slant when some pointed out that a top-price ticket could cost as much as £40 (£40.75 to be precise). Of course, it's a more nuanced story than that, and far more affordable tickets are available for the Dolby screen.

The question is then, does the Odeon Leicester Square live up to the promise of a revolution in cinema? Is it worth heading all the way to London just to see a film there, or at least if you are in London choosing it over your local? Check out my next article to find out my thoughts.


A technology journalist for over twenty years, I have observed and written about how the world has evolved from analogue to digital. I have written, in print and online