Universal’s “The Fate of the Furious” is primed for a $100 million-plus opening this weekend, as it prepares to dominate the box office. And some fans of the high-octane adventure will be able to feel what it’s like to ride shotgun with Dom Toretto and Roman Pearce, as the movie will screen at all nine 4DX theaters currently open in the U.S., which feature moving seats and environmental effects such as wind, rain, lightning, snow and a handful of scents.
That includes the country’s newest 4DX venue, the Regal Meridian 16 in Seattle, which opens this weekend. The eight other 4DX theaters are: AEG Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 in downtown Los Angeles, Cinepolis Pico Rivera and CGV Cinemas Buena Park in the L.A. suburbs, Cinepolis Vista in suburban San Diego, Regal Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 & IMAX in Orlando, Marcus Gurnee Mills Cinema in Chicago’s northern suburbs and Regal Cinemas, E-Walk Stadium and Regal Union Square Stadium 14 in New York.
The 4DX concept was created by Seoul-based CJ 4DPLEX, which also has offices in Los Angeles and Beijing. Each 4DX theater incorporates motion-based seating synchronized with more than 20 different effects, calibrated by human editors.
In March, CJ 4DPLEX opened the first 4DX theater in Australia, giving the technology a presence in every continent except Antarctica. There are currently more than 45,000 4DX seats in 370 auditoriums across 47 countries.
At last month’s CinemaCon, 4DX unveiled two new movements that have increased the range of motion by 400 percent, as the seats now have 170 degrees of possible motion. The combination of 4DX’s “Sway” and “Twist” effects enlarges the up and down movement possibilities while also allowing right, left and rotational movement at the same time — making car chases, like those in “Furious” — seem a lot more realistic.