{"id":365759,"date":"2025-12-23T02:20:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T02:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/365759\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T02:20:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T02:20:14","slug":"can-film-save-cinema-why-2025-was-the-year-celluloid-reigned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/365759\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Film Save Cinema? Why 2025 Was The Year Celluloid Reigned"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI hope this was helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

So says\u00a0Sinners<\/a>\u00a0director Ryan Coogler at the end of his 10-minute film format explainer<\/a>. Co-produced by Kodak and Warner Bros, the video saw Coogler talking through how\u00a0Sinners\u00a0was shot \u2013 on film, across 65mm Ultra-Panavision and 65mm IMAX film stocks \u2013 and subsequently how it would be presented to audiences worldwide, in various formats: some digital; some projected from film; some in rare large-format 70mm prints. It could have been dry. Overly technical. But Coogler\u2019s video was none of those things. It was, ostensibly, a free mini film school lesson from a master director \u2013 unpacking how images get captured, how shots are framed, how different film stocks affect the image, and what that means for audiences. Helpful? It felt\u00a0revelatory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is… kind of historic?\u201d reads a YouTube comment from @HEAVYHEARTSMUSIC. \u201cI don’t think I’ve ever seen a filmmaker break it down like this, not even Nolan or QT or PTA. Coogler about to be inducted into the Celluloid Brotherhood lol.\u201d @KM81_ART wrote: \u201cAfter watching this I reserved my ticket to see the 70mm IMAX at the BFI. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It\u2019s changed the way I think of movies.\u201d Coogler\u2019s video has been viewed 880,000 times on YouTube, and many millions more than that on social media sites like X, where it went viral.<\/p>\n

So, yes, helpful. Particularly at a time when the cinema experience cannot be taken for granted. Recent weeks have seen Netflix make a bid to buy Warner Bros<\/a>. The cinema industry is still building back up in the wake of the pandemic. Audience habits are shifting. And yet Coogler \u2013 armed simply with a whiteboard, a pen, and a few strips of celluloid \u2013 imparts everything that makes the cinema experience so special. It took just 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOppenheimer was the first film which was, I feel, a drama filmed in IMAX.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot take \u2013 and nor can Kodak take \u2013 really any credit for what Ryan did there,\u201d Vanessa Bendetti, Vice President and Head Of Motion Picture at Kodak, tells\u00a0Empire. She had identified that there may be an opportunity to engage potential audiences by explaining what \u2018IMAX film\u2019 actually means. But she hadn\u2019t anticipated what shortly arrived. \u201cI got dropped this video that Ryan had made in one take, and they came to me and they said, \u2018Can we put your logo on this, and will you guys share it?\u2019 I’m like, \u2018Are you\u00a0kidding\u00a0me? Yes, we will!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sinners\"<\/p>\n

It signalled something significant: that audiences are paying more attention to how they see films, and that studios can market film formats as a box office draw. The only place you can get this experience? The big screen.<\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

Ryan Coogler wasn\u2019t the only one. 2025 brought a swathe of cinematic releases where the promise of a bigger, better experience was front and centre. The year began with\u00a0The Brutalist<\/a>, reviving the VistaVision format (and the mid-movie intermission<\/a>). This was the format of choice for Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s\u00a0One Battle After Another<\/a>\u00a0too; projected in true VistaVision on just four cinemas worldwide, plus a limited 70mm IMAX release. Beyond\u00a0Sinners, Kodak released a similar video with Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson for\u00a0The Smashing Machine<\/a>, explaining the various film stocks used to tell Mark Kerr\u2019s story \u2013 shifting from VHS, to 16mm (blown up to IMAX resolution for the film time), and closing out in 65mm. For many of the year\u2019s biggest \u2013 and crucially buzziest \u2013 films, film itself was at the forefront.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s been a real, tangible shift towards celluloid, and that’s been going on for a few years,\u201d says Madeleine Mullett, programme manager at the BFI IMAX in London. \u201cI’d say that there’s an auteur lead on that,\u201d she adds. Hence: Ryan Coogler, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino (whose\u00a0Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair<\/a>\u00a0came with 35mm and 70mm prints). And, let\u2019s not forget, Christopher Nolan.\u00a0Oppenheimer<\/a>, with its sold-out IMAX 70mm presentations, was a watershed moment in 2023. \u201cOppenheimer was the first film which was, I feel, a drama filmed in IMAX,\u201d says Mullett. \u201cSomething like Oppenheimer wouldn’t have happened with an IMAX film even five years ago. It was a huge, dramatic change in style for that format.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nolan\u2019s film proved premium formats didn\u2019t just have to be for action spectacles.\u00a0The Brutalist\u00a0and\u00a0The Smashing Machine\u00a0are character dramas;\u00a0Sinners\u00a0and\u00a0One Battle After Another\u00a0have genre elements, but they\u2019re not summer blockbusters. And yet, when audiences know these films were captured on film, and are available to watch projected\u00a0from\u00a0film, it becomes event cinema in a digital age. \u201cIt’s a performance,\u201d argues Bendetti. \u201cNo two screenings will ever be exactly the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

For all the benefits of digital production and distribution, Bendetti sees that celluloid is an opportunity to \u201cgo back to the real craft of filmmaking\u201d. Long before anything reaches audience eyeballs, the impact is discernible. \u201c[Film] really drives a process. There’s a preparedness and a discipline on set \u2013 both in front of and behind the camera \u2013 that informs a different work product,\u201d she argues. So, if talented filmmakers are using film, and film is pushing them to create something extraordinary, why wouldn\u2019t studios seize on that to pull in punters? \u201cStudios have seen that there’s a gold standard of quality on a project if it’s been shot on film, and they’re starting to acknowledge that there is value in that from a campaigning and release strategy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In the cinematic ecosystem, audiences want to see something special. And filmmakers want to make something special. That\u2019s why Ryan Coogler\u2019s\u00a0Sinners\u00a0video resonated so strongly, say Bendretti. \u201cIt’s so authentic. It’s\u00a0not\u00a0marketing,\u201d she says. \u201cHe’s truly saying, \u2018This is why I care about this medium. This is why I’m excited that we were able to do something that had never been done before.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul [Thomas Anderson] went to incredible lengths to do what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason that not every film is shot on film. It\u2019s inconvenient. Compared to digital, it\u2019s expensive, less flexible, fraught with technical difficulty. In Coogler\u2019s video, he explains how he simultaneously shot Sinners across two distinct film stocks in order to capture exactly what he wanted. For\u00a0One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson helped revive the long-dead format of VistaVision by refurbing defunct tech. Opening all of this up to the audience sends a message: this was\u00a0hard. It took effort. But that inconvenience was for the sake of artistic integrity, and the audience gets to be a part of it.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you understand that Paul went to incredible lengths to do what he did, to be able to capture [One Battle] in that way, by resurrecting equipment,\u201d Bendretti says of the film\u2019s VistaVision production. \u201cAnd then he’s gone to painstaking effort to bring it to the world in this way that is authentic to how he captured it. There’s a different level of care and commitment to have the audience experience something.\u201d<\/p>\n

It remains a gamble for studios. If film is expensive, and difficult \u2013 in a world where even making\u00a0any\u00a0movie is hard \u2013 who is it all for?<\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about \u20ac170 both ways, including the [cinema] ticket.\u201d Cinemagoer Darren Mooney \u2013 based in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland \u2013 took a flight over to London specifically to see\u00a0One Battle After Another\u00a0in 70mm IMAX at the BFI IMAX. He\u2019d already seen Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s latest masterpiece locally on a digital DCP (Digital Cinema Package), and on 70mm film at the Irish Film Institute,\u00a0and\u00a0on digital laser IMAX too. But the pull of 70mm IMAX proved too much. \u201cIt is a singular screen and a singular experience,\u201d he reasons.<\/p>\n

Seeing\u00a0Oppenheimer\u00a0on that format during a chance trip to London in 2023 remains, Mooney says, \u201cone of the greatest cinematic experiences of my life\u201d. And so, realising that\u00a0One Battle\u00a0was going to be back at the BFI IMAX, he made the calculations. He saw that he could get a morning flight into London for 11am, make it to the Southbank, see the film, get back to the airport, and be back in Dublin by 7pm. \u201cSo I felt, \u2018Hey, why not?\u2019,\u201d he says. \u201cI don’t know when this is going to happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making such an extensive (and expensive) journey is not, he stressed, going to be a regular occurrence. \u201cBut I thought it was very worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

For \u201chuge film buff\u201d Jamie MacLaren, the BFI IMAX was his venue of choice to see\u00a0Sinners, in 70mm 15-perf. When making his choice, Coogler\u2019s video was \u201cpart of it\u201d, he says, though he regularly seeks out similar screenings having hoovered up Christopher Nolan\u2019s filmography on the format. \u201cThat 1.43:1 aspect ratio is such a rarity nowadays,\u201d he says. \u201cIt feels like a massive, grand thing that doesn’t really get utilised that much anymore.\u201d Seeing\u00a0Dunkirk<\/a>\u00a0on 70mm IMAX at the AMC Lincoln Square, New York changed everything for him \u2013 and Coogler\u2019s horror-blues mashup fit the large format perfectly. \u201cThe story and cinematography really lends itself to 1.43 and 70mm, because that texture and the scope of the vampires is just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sinners\"<\/p>\n

Even for those not crossing bodies of water for a cinema trip, the promise of celluloid is a major draw. \u201cWhen you’re competing with streamers, it really is about what makes it different. Why would you go to a large screen cinema and pay substantially more than you would at home?\u201d queries Mullett. Films like Anderson\u2019s provide a clear answer. \u201cOne Battle\u00a0is full-screen [IMAX] for the whole time, and it really plays into the tempo, the structure of the film, the emotional resonance that it has with the audiences. And it’s just\u00a0massive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRegina Hall has got these incredibly expressive eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s on a giant screen or not, working with film delivers a fundamentally different experience than digital, on a literal chemical level. \u201cSomething happens photochemically,\u201d explains Bendetti. \u201cThere are no two frames alike. It’s the difference between a sensor pulling in light and giving it into percentages predetermined for different variations of colour, in an air pattern that arranges pixels in some finite way. And film is silver halide crystals swimming in emulsions. It’s just more aligned with the way the eye sees.\u201d That subtle difference, she argues, is felt bodily. \u201cIn our natural lives, there’s dust in the air, there are things that aren’t in focus. Film more naturally emulates that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

When you get into film presentation and formats, things quickly get technical. It\u2019s film stocks and file sizes, different projectors and sound set-ups. And while clueing audiences up on those elements is important (\u201cWe’ve definitely seen that audiences respond to technical details,\u201d Mullett says), it\u2019s all in aid of something that\u2019s anything\u00a0but\u00a0technical. \u201cWe seek out emotional experiences,\u201d she says. This proved true for Mooney, seeing\u00a0One Battle\u00a0in IMAX 70mm. \u201cThe use of close ups, the Regina Hall shots look better in IMAX,\u201d he says, \u201cjust because her face fills up the frame \u2013 she’s got these incredibly expressive eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s \u20ac170 well spent.<\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

The history of cinema is full of domino effects and chain reactions. And 2025\u2019s celluloid celebration arrived as a direct knock-on effect from what came before.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Oppenheimer] opened the door for\u00a0Sinners,\u201d says Mullett. \u201cAnd then\u00a0Sinners\u00a0opens the door for other filmmakers.\u201d There is a momentum building in how film \u2013 and premium formats like IMAX \u2013 might reshape the industry. \u201cWe are seeing this next generation of filmmakers who are passionate about the medium because it’s something different than what they’ve grown up with,\u201d notes Bendretti. \u201cIt allows them to differentiate their work from everything else that’s out there.\u201d In the wake of\u00a0One Battle\u00a0and\u00a0The Brutalist reviving VistaVision (\u201cDefinitely a buzzword right now,\u201d Bendetti attests), the likes of Emerald Fennell\u2019s\u00a0Wuthering Heights<\/a>, Alejandro G. I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\u2019s\u00a0Digger<\/a>, M. Night Shyamalan\u2019s\u00a0Remain, and Greta Gerwig\u2019s\u00a0Narnia are following suit.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

And then, of course, there\u2019s\u00a0The Odyssey<\/a>. Christopher Nolan is handing the baton to\u2026 well, himself. After\u00a0Oppenheimer\u00a0proved what 70mm IMAX can do, Nolan has shot his entire Ancient Greek epic on the format \u2013 the first feature to ever do so<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing surprises us with Christopher Nolan anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for opening weekend IMAX 70mm screenings of\u00a0The Odyssey\u00a0went on sale a year ahead of its July 2026 release date; they are, of course, already sold out. Bristol-based Terrelle Graham snagged tickets for the Science Museum IMAX; even in the early hours of on-sale day, the BFI screenings were full. \u201cIt was a manic rush,\u201d he says. \u201cI was trying to be a bit too particular about which seat I wanted. This isn’t the time to do that!\u201d After seeing\u00a0Oppenheimer\u00a0at 4am, the only time IMAX 70mm tickets were available, he\u2019s just relieved to have\u00a0Odyssey\u00a0tickets in the bag. \u201cThere are more tickets coming out closer to release, but it feels nice to know that I’m seeing it opening weekend.\u201d MacLaren, too, already has tickets to see\u00a0The Odyssey twice on IMAX 70mm within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing surprises us with Christopher Nolan anymore,\u201d Mullett laughs. \u201cBy breakfast time, we had sold out all of the screenings. He’s now got to a position where he can financially make sense of using a celluloid IMAX print for the entirety of the film. And it’s not just any film. It’s\u00a0The Odyssey, you know? It’s like, \u2018Wow, this is a turning point for the industry.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Premium formats aren\u2019t just about film. Mooney sometimes chooses chair-rocking, scent-blasting 4DX when it feels right (\u201cDave Bautista smells like cinnamon, which was an interesting choice,\u201d he says of\u00a0Dune: Part Two<\/a>). And for\u00a0Avatar: Fire And Ash<\/a>, an inherently digital work, James Cameron\u2019s preferred presentation is Dolby laser projection. \u201cFor me, Dolby cinema is superior to IMAX for digital releases,\u201d says MacLaren, who\u2019s already seen\u00a0Fire And Ash\u00a0in this format. \u201cYou have the dual laser projection, and it\u2019s graded right. You have an incredible colour palette with Dolby Vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, in a primarily digital world, it\u2019s film that stands out as a truly different experience. There is work to be done. IMAX venues able to project 70mm are still rare; the entire process is expensive, including for the audience, who pays a premium for that premium experience. And there\u2019s an entire ecosystem to be maintained \u2013 from Kodak making the film, to the celluloid plants processing it, to directors and studios being willing to use it, to cinemas being able to play it, to audiences showing up for it. But amid any industry doom and gloom, this trend shows that there are people out there who really care: both filmmakers and fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made\u00a0Sinners\u00a0for the theatrical experience,\u201d says Coogler as he wraps his Kodak video. \u201cWe want you guys to have all these different options.\u201d No matter how you chose to see\u00a0Sinners, the knowledge Coogler shared boosts cinema as a whole. And\u00a0that, most definitely, is helpful.<\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI hope this was helpful.\u201d So says\u00a0Sinners\u00a0director Ryan Coogler at the end of his 10-minute film format explainer.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,134,344],"class_list":{"0":"post-365759","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-movies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}