Spider-Man: Brand New Screen

By John Freeman on 11 August 2026 • ( 1 )

Tim Robins checks out Spider-Man: Brand New Day in Screen X format, following up on his earlier review of the film

SPOILER ALERT: VILLAINS MENTIONED!

First used over a decade ago, Screen X isn’t exactly new although it was for me. Having dismissed Screen X in my first review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I subsequently learnt the film was specially shot for the format, so I decided to give it a go when it came time for a rewatch.

As of 2022, there were 364 Screen X screens in 37 countries. At time of writing, Cineworld, who host the format in the UK, there are a mere 22 cinemas that support Screen X in this country. For me, one of those screens happens to be a short bus ride away in Brighton Marina “Village” – a desolate location of mostly retail outlets, buy to let apartments and an ASDA.

For those not in the know (for example, American film critics on YouTube, as well as myself) films for Screen X are shot on three cameras. In the cinema, the resulting image onto a screen and two adjacent side walls. This means the projected image covers 270 of a possible 360 degrees – so, although Screen X is described as immersive, it’s not all encompassing.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the first Marvel movie to be shot in the Screen X format. According to Variety, the film also marks the first time that CJ 4DPlex have collaborated with filmmakers to curate imagery and aspects designed specifically for the format. So, although there have been many films displayed in the Screen X format, this is the first time the format’s North Korean creators have involved themselves from production to distribution.

Promoting the film in Screen X, Director Destin Daniel Cretton has described Spider-Man: Brand New Day as “a first” and “something truly unique that nobody has experienced before”, finally enthusing, “you’re going to love it.”

Of course, you can judge for yourself. I certainly enjoyed the Screen X experience, although at £20 I’m still not sure it’s worth twice the price as the cheap seats at the local Odeon (who have introduced the odious practice of tiered or surge pricing).

A correction: my previous review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day suggested that the Screen X experience would be like watching a tennis match in that the audience would end up moving their heads back and forth to follow the action. That’s not how the format works.

Certainly the side images can take some getting used to. For example, in Screen X, the cloud filled sky behind Columbia Pictures’ logo depicting “Lady Columbia” (said to represent The Americas) now appears with two, green glowing exit signs. This must surely be the first time a symbol of America comes with an emergency exit route, but these days, I’m sure it will be welcomed by many Americans.

For the most part, the wall projections aren’t supposed to be looked at directly. Instead, largely out of focus, they fill in your peripheral vision. This has the effect of extending landscapes to the edge of your eyesight.

In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Screen X is mostly used for exteriors, helping to create expansive views of New York. Without it, interiors feel more enclosed. For me, the best use of the format comes in a couple of web shooting scenes. One in an ident before the film begins, the other when Pete Parker’s and our vision is entirely filled with new, organic webbing. The latter actually felt mildly claustrophobic.

As for frame compositions, in two-shots, one character is mostly blurred, their image partly bleeding onto a side wall. As far as I could see, there was only one shot where a character, the villainous Scorpion, was depicted entirely on a side wall. Again, the image was blurred.

Where you sit matters. I began seated centre back. Screen X makes use of steep, stadium seating much like an IMAX cinema. The plus is that I could easily see over the heads of people seated in front of me: the minus was that I felt like I was perched on the edge of a precipice. Then came the heat.

It has become a not particularly funny running joke that my cinema experience is being dictated by whether or not the air conditioning is working. It wasn’t. As the atmosphere became stifling, I reasoned that, since hot air rises, it would be cooler nearer the bottom. That, and I noticed the fourth row back was treated to a pleasant breeze as people exited to, and entered from, the passage leading to the restrooms.

Moving to a lower level proved a big mistake. The central image seemed shot through an anamorphic lense. From the fourth row, right, and next to the exit, Spider-Man developed a hunched back every time he appeared to the left of the screen – one side of his shoulder was very much lower than the other. So a centre seat near the back really is best.

As for the film itself, I enjoyed it even more than the first time. The audience exuded the same youthful excitement, although this time, they didn’t break into spontaneous applause. But in Britain, applause or audience vocalisation is fairly limited. If your cinema experience isn’t complete without hooting, whooping or hollering, better see a film Stateside.

In the end, seeing Spider-Man: Brand New Day on Screen X was fun, but I still feel ‘immersion’ is a state of mind. Concentrate on the screen, become caught up in the story, the performances and the direction and you will be as immersed as you’ll ever need to be.

Tim Robins

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in cinemas now | Cineworld Screen X Screening Information here | Check out Tim’s earlier review of the film here

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.