Proposal: 15/70 IMAX Screening of Project Hail Mary at Gujarat Science City

[Glenn Geo Reji]

Hey all, I thought of putting a post here regarding a IMAX 70mm theatre which is the only one working in our country India.

Gujarat Science City IMAX is India's last 15/70 IMAX. But right now they only play two IMAX documentaries such as T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous and Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D.

The last big film which they ever played was Interstellar back in 2014. After which they never played any other movie and if I am correct, they didn't get any IMAX 15/70 film platter after that.

Right now, there are lot of cinephiles who knows about IMAX and especially IMAX 70mm, and they know about the existence of this theatre and there are people who are willing to travel to that theatre from another state or from somewhere far.

If there is any way we can convey this message to the big guys working in IMAX or the producers of the movie "Project Hail Mary", it would be really great since this IMAX is in a science exhibition area and it'd be perfect for a science-based movie.

Would really love the support if you guys can provide to spread this information to the cinephiles who are out there and who can also help in working out this impossible proposal of ours.

[Tyler Purcell]

IMAX has their own distribution network for documentaries, which does not include feature films from Hollywood. 

[Gautam Valluri]

On 3/5/2026 at 6:37 PM, Glenn Geo Reji said:

Hey all, I thought of putting a post here regarding a IMAX 70mm theatre which is the only one working in our country India.

Gujarat Science City IMAX is India's last 15/70 IMAX. But right now they only play two IMAX documentaries such as T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous and Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D.

The last big film which they ever played was Interstellar back in 2014. After which they never played any other movie and if I am correct, they didn't get any IMAX 15/70 film platter after that.

Right now, there are lot of cinephiles who knows about IMAX and especially IMAX 70mm, and they know about the existence of this theatre and there are people who are willing to travel to that theatre from another state or from somewhere far.

If there is any way we can convey this message to the big guys working in IMAX or the producers of the movie "Project Hail Mary", it would be really great since this IMAX is in a science exhibition area and it'd be perfect for a science-based movie.

Would really love the support if you guys can provide to spread this information to the cinephiles who are out there and who can also help in working out this impossible proposal of ours.

I think your best bet would be to get an online petition going and get something like 10K signatures (not difficult in a country like India). I'd post a link to the petition in the IMAX and India subreddits and get it going on the social media.

As far as I know, India has moved on from film projection a while ago. If I remember correctly, there were prints being made as recently as 2013. The Prasad's IMAX in Hyderbad used to be the biggest screen in the world until a bigger one was built in Sydney. They still have the screen there but they do regular 4K projection there. My guess is that they still have the IMAX 15/70 projectors there. Prasads is a massive international group. If they see that there is enough interest, they might bring the IMAX back.

Let me be clear: none of these guys care about quality film projection or the traditions of watching cinema in a collective space. They are cut-throat businesses and they want to make money. The cost of a movie ticket in India unfortunately is not going to pay for leasing and shipping extremely expensive IMAX film prints, and then paying for the upkeep of the projection system. Here in Europe, the cost of a ticket to watch a move in IMAX is about 25€, which is about 2700 INR. Do you know anyone who wants to pay that much in India? 

Having said that, IMAX is growing fast in the west and is only a matter of time when a big-name Indian filmmaker would want to make the first Indian film on 15/70mm.

Another idea is to write to Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who heads the Film Heritage Foundation in India. He knows Christopher Nolan personally and is passionate about film preservation and projection. He has the reach to get in touch with IMAX corporation and/or major American film studios. You could also get in touch with the guys at Harkat in Mumbai, they're just setting up their new film lab called Monsoon. Those guys too are very passionate about film projection and have a large enough presence to circulate the message.

Basically, the only way I see is to get an online petition going, get these people who are passionate about film projection on board and maybe something will happen.

Edited March 6 by Gautam Valluri