First Look at Disney’s Infinity Vision as Theaters Race to Prepare for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Endgame’ Re-Release

Premium moviegoing experiences have become an increasingly crowded space, with formats like IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and various proprietary large-screen brands all competing for audience attention and studio partnerships. For years, that competition has largely played out without much direct involvement from the studios themselves.

That changed earlier this year when Disney unveiled its own answer to the premium format wars. Announced at CinemaCon in April, Disney’s new Infinity Vision certification was designed to give audiences a clear signal for which theaters offer what the studio calls the “biggest, brightest, and most immersive cinematic experiences,” without Disney needing to build any proprietary screens of its own.

That certification process is now actively playing out at theaters around the world. Disney has begun delivering Infinity Vision test packages to individual auditoriums, checking each one against a specific set of technical benchmarks, with results shared back to Disney to determine whether a theater officially earns certification. Rakki Cinemas’ EPIQ auditorium has already passed that testing process, with the rest of the chain’s EPIQ screens expected to follow shortly.

Earning the Infinity Vision badge isn’t a simple formality. To qualify, auditoriums need a screen width of at least 45 to 50 feet, laser projection capable of reaching brightness levels of at least 14 footlamberts in 2D or 6 footlamberts in 3D, and premium immersive audio systems like Dolby Atmos or full 7.1 surround sound.

Those requirements have made the certification process a genuine technical hurdle rather than a marketing rebrand. Disney reported in June that the program had already received more than 7,500 applications from screens around the world hoping to qualify, reflecting just how much interest theater chains have shown in securing the new designation ahead of the studio’s biggest upcoming releases.

Infinity Vision’s rollout has been closely tied to Disney’s theatrical calendar from the very beginning. The certification is set to debut alongside the September 25 re-release of ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ now retitled ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore,‘ before carrying through to December’s highly anticipated ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’

That timing has drawn some scrutiny from industry watchers, given that ‘Doomsday’ is reportedly not receiving the same level of IMAX availability as some other major releases sharing its December release window. Positioning Infinity Vision as a premium alternative right as that film arrives gives Disney a way to promote large-format viewing options for the movie regardless of IMAX’s own scheduling decisions.

Disney’s push into this space makes sense given just how much premium large-format screens now contribute to a blockbuster’s opening weekend. Industry figures suggest PLF auditoriums typically account for roughly 40 percent of a domestic tentpole’s opening weekend total, with ‘Toy Story 5’ pulling in nearly $64 million of its record-setting $159.6 million opening specifically from those premium screens.

With numbers like that on the line, it’s easy to see why Disney would want more direct influence over how premium theatrical experiences are marketed and standardized. Rather than relying entirely on existing brands like IMAX or Dolby Cinema, Infinity Vision gives the studio its own certification to promote directly to audiences.

For audiences, the rollout means keeping an eye out for the Infinity Vision label at their local theater chains in the coming weeks. Landmark Cinemas has already confirmed its certified lineup includes formats like Laser Ultra, XTREME, EXTRA, LUXE, and ScreenX, giving moviegoers multiple ways to access the certification depending on which chain operates near them.

As more theaters complete testing and earn certification ahead of September’s Endgame re-release, Infinity Vision looks poised to become a genuine fixture of how audiences choose where to watch Disney’s biggest upcoming films. Whether it ultimately reshapes the broader premium format landscape the way IMAX has for decades remains to be seen, but the early momentum suggests plenty of theaters aren’t waiting around to find out.

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