Despite being one of the biggest movies of 2026, Avengers: Doomsday lost out on being presented in IMAX screenings.
The upcoming Marvel movie opens on December 18, the same day as Dune: Part Three. It’s an epic blockbuster showdown between Disney and Warner Bros. to help close out the year. The downside, however, is that only the third Dune movie will be presented in the IMAX format, though IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond wishes this weren’t the case.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gelfond explained that because IMAX already had a deal in place with Warner Bros. and Legendary for Dune: Part Three, it prevented Avengers: Doomsday from getting the same treatment. The IMAX executive shared that “Disney understands that,” as well as addressed how the studio is branding its premium large format Doomsday screenings as “Infinity Vision”:
They created kind of a marketing vehicle called Infinity Vision, which enables them to ‘brand’ their release. It’s important to note there’s no additional screens. It’s just kind of a branding move on their part.
Marvel Studios and IMAX have a relationship stretching back to 2010’s Iron Man 2, which includes sequences being specifically filmed in the IMAX expanded ratio for these kinds of screenings. So, Avengers: Doomsday missing out on the IMAX crowd is not a small thing, but per Gelfond, Disney understands about Dune: Part Three taking priority that opening weekend.
In response to the IMAX stock price recently falling due to investors being concerned about the performance of major Hollywood releases, Gelfond said during the interview that “people are needlessly worried, but we’re not.” He’s optimistic that the rest of IMAX’s 2026 theatrical output will perform well. That slate includes Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Minions & Monsters, The Odyssey, Street Fighter, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
As far as what’s ahead for the end of 2026, Avengers: Doomsday will see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the New Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and many more all colliding as Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom threatens the multiverse. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo returned to the MCU to helm this feature and Secret Wars, and Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely wrote the script.
Dune: Part Three is adapting Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah, and will be director Denis Villeneuve’s final movie in the franchise. The concluding chapter of this trilogy, which Villeneuve co-wrote with Brian K. Vaughan, will see actors like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, and Javier Bardem reprising their roles. Newcomers include Robert Pattinson, Isaach de Bankolé, Nakoa-Wolf Momoa, and Ida Brooke.
](/tag/action-movies/)
](/tag/sci-fi/)
Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Johnny Storm / Human Torch