For the premiere of the sixth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, starring Tom Cruise, IMAX completed an “impossible mission” of its own.
For the Mission: Impossible—Fallout event, which took place July 12 in Paris, the company transformed the iconic Palais de Chaillot, near the Eiffel Tower, into a true IMAX theater.
“Paris plays a significant part in this film and it was such a fantastic choice by the studio to host the premiere there,” explained Roger Pollock, head of film marketing for IMAX. “It was important to all of us that we provide everyone at the premiere with the best screening experience possible in the format the film was meant for.” In the film, which will be released worldwide on July 25, Cruise races a motorbike sans helmet through traffic round the Arc de Triomphe, in addition to jumping from a plane 25,000 feet above the French capital.
This was the fourth time IMAX had transformed a venue like this for a one-night-only global premiere and the second time for the Mission: Impossible franchise. In addition to converting venues into theaters for movies like Transformers and Star Wars, the company has also created pop-up experiences for events such as the Star Trek Beyond premiere at San Diego Comic-Con.
The Palais de Chaillot, which is mostly used for live performances such as the ballet, was outfitted with an IMAX screen, a proprietary dual-projection digital system, and a custom sound system that was configured and tuned to optimize the playback of the film’s soundtrack.
“For this special IMAX theater build, the biggest challenge was time,” said Eric Jacques, vice president of theater development and technology for IMAX. “The IMAX experience is incredible and full of complex, proprietary technology and we have the highest of standards when it comes to ensuring fans get the best, most immersive experience in our theaters. Accomplishing that in 72 hours is no easy task but, with a dedicated team, we worked around the clock to create this exclusive experience and it turned out fantastic.”
Despite the challenges, Pollock said that this won’t be the last time IMAX brings its experience to an unexpected venue.
“Filmmakers want to really showcase the scope and scale of these big blockbuster films and launch them in the best format possible. To do this, many are choosing IMAX, which truly presents movies in their fullest, best form and really immerses audiences into the experience like nothing else,” he said. “When an important studio partner is looking at a unique venue such as the National de Chaillot to provide an out-of-this-world experience, we love that they come to us to create an IMAX theater to accomplish this.”
Watch how the theater was built:
