After slashing its way to the top of the box office heap, the year’s biggest blockbuster, Black Panther, arrives May 4 on the only screen in Chattanooga massive enough to accommodate action on such an epic scale.
Like Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi before it, Black Panther will be screened in 3D at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater in a limited engagement. Fans can see this newly minted action movie classic on the theater’s six-story screen at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings through June 2. The film is based on the Marvel comic character of the same name, who made his first big-screen appearance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. The titular superhero (played by Chadwick Boseman) faces numerous challenges as he takes his rightful place as king of the technologically advanced — and hidden — African nation of Wakanda. The film’s all-star cast also features Michael Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett and Andy Serkis.
In addition to screen size, Black Panther fans will enjoy a more immersive cinematic experience at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater thanks to the IMAX with Laser projection system and 12-channel audio system. “I love watching films in IMAX. It’s my favorite way to watch movies,” says Ryan Coogler, the film’s director. “We made some very specific choices to film in IMAX to give audiences that expanded view.”
“We looked for interesting battle sequences, fight sequences to make the transition to IMAX,” says Rachel Morrison, the film’s cinematographer. “The hope is that it puts you even more in the moment and that it feels even more tactile and visceral, and vertical and you’re immersed in this experience.”
The grand scale of an IMAX screening is an ideal fit for a film with Black Panther’s scope and visual grandeur, says Forest Whitaker, who plays Zuri in the film.
“It’s so overwhelming, the size of the universe as it is,” he says. “And then you amplify that with a larger screen and more speakers.”
After its Feb. 16 debut, Black Panther has become 2018’s highest-rated movie in wide release with an average critical rating of 88 percent on Metacritic and a whopping 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. With global ticket sales of $1.325 billion, Black Panther is the tenth most financially successful film of all time and the third most-successful Marvel film after the two Avengers movies.
“I think Black Panther has a little bit of everything,” Morrison says. “It’s an action movie, but it comes down to people, places and humanism. It’s got awesome cartoonists-styled battle scenes, and it has really intimate and human moments.”
Black Panther is a feature-length film rated PG-13 with a runtime of 134 minutes (2 hours 14 minutes). Tickets are $15.95 for adults and $12.95 for ages 3-12. Deluxe Aquarium members and IMAX Club Pass holders can purchase tickets at a discounted rate of $4. Purchase tickets at the IMAX box office located at 201 Chestnut St., Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Additional information about Black Panther is at www.tnaqua.org/imax/black-panther-3D.