Where is the world’s largest cinema screen?
There are certain schools of thought when it comes to cinema that live by the rule ‘bigger is better’.
Bigger pictures; bigger sound; bigger action; bigger stars; if you can get the most out of something, then you should. As technology has advanced, intrepid film industry figures have been able to test the limits of what is possible with regard to size, including how big a cinema screen can be.
Gone are the days of everyone crowding round the tatty old projector in the village. Nowadays, big cinema is big business. The allure of having ‘the biggest screen on Earth’ is far too enticing to pass up, and many locations around the world have fought for that title over the years. However, among all the different contenders, there is one name that crops up time and time again – IMAX.
With origins dating back to the 1970s, IMAX might be most commonly associated with cinemas, but it’s actually the name of a type of camera. These are the devices capable of capturing images in the right resolution to be displayed on some of the largest screens of the world, characterised by their distinctive 1.90:1. It used to be 1.43:1, but trying to explain why it changed or what any of those numbers actually mean is above my pay grade.
We all know that IMAX make big screens, but where is the biggest one in the world? Is it in Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood? Is it London’s British Film Institute (BFI), a haven for movie lovers in the UK? Is it somewhere in the Middle East, one of the many extravagant tourist attractions constructed in the region over the past few decades? Actually, it’s almost fucking impossible to guess, so give up.
Where is the world’s largest cinema screen?
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest cinema screen in the world is the IMAX at the Traumplast in Leonberg, Germany. The IMAX screen at the theatre complex was completed in 2021 after two years of renovation. It measures 39m x 21m, which, according to the record book, “is wider than a Boeing 737 airliner”. By comparison, the BFI’s best offering is a measly 26m x 20m, a mere phone screen by comparison. The gargantuan display was christened by the latest ‘James Bond’ movie, No Time to Die, and has been enthralling viewers ever since.
The only other thing to do in Leonberg is to visit the historic town square, which is lovely, but only for a limited time. If you are planning on buying your tickets to see The Odyssey on the biggest screen possible, then make sure you also bring plenty of books to read. You’ll need them.
If you live in the Southern Hemisphere and feel left out, then fear not! The second and third-largest IMAX screens are both in Australia (what the hell?). The Melbourne IMAX opened in 1998 with a screen 31m x 23m in size and topped the list several times before Leonberg left it in the dust. In third place is the Sydney IMAX, which has a current screen of 29m x 24m. However, this is actually way smaller than the original screen, which, at 30m x 36m, is significantly larger than the current record holder.
It was demolished in 2016 and replaced with the less monumental screen that audiences know today.
