If you see Black Widow in a standard theater when it comes out on next month, you’ll be missing something–the top and bottom of the picture. When Black Widow hits IMAX next month, moviegoers will get 22 minutes of scenes with an expanded picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
If you catch the movie on an IMAX screen, you’ll see Black Widow shift from its standard 2.40:1 to a taller 1:90:1 aspect ratio. It’s not quite as square as what we saw with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but it’s a noticeable difference. That film expanded from a typical widescreen aspect ratio to a 4:3 ratio to fill up the largest IMAX screens (despite it playing almost exclusively on home televisions).
To be clear, these screenings will not include any additional footage–but 22 minutes of the existing footage will be shown in IMAX aspect ratio. The above image is a rough idea of how much more space IMAX offers, but is not indicative of the final product; Natasha’s forehead will likely be appropriately visible in close-ups.
After Marvel Studios completes a film, the studio sends it off to IMAX, THR notes. IMAX then sends the film through its Digital Media Remastering process for the appropriate scenes. Marvel has done this with a bunch of its other movies; according to Deadline, these shots usually make up about 30 to 45 minutes of other Marvel films.
Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ Premium on July 9.
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