On Jan. 8 the Music Box Theatre becomes the exclusive Chicago venue for Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” Civil War epic that was shot, released and projected in 70mm, as its digital version will be screening in other area theatres.
Quentin Tarantino’s 70mm three hour Roadshow presentation, about racism and revenge, with an all-star cast, has enjoyed a remarkable run at the Music Box.
Starting Christmas Day, when the film went into limited release, it was one of only 44 few and far between North American theatres with the projection ability for a 70mm film.
During the first week, the mega movie grossed what the theatre calls “an astounding $196,358,” which set a house record for the theatre and racked up the third highest gross for “The Hateful Eight” in the country.
The Music Box’s phenomenal performance was due in part, they say, “to the great care the theatre invested into the movie-going experience.” On Christmas Eve, projectionists worked through the night to install a new 41-foot screen, which was nearly twice the size of past 70mm presentations.
A state-of-the-art 7.1 channel sound system also installed greatly enhanced the audio presentation.
Uniquely beautiful Ultra Panavision 70mm offers images of unequaled sharpness and clarity, with as much as four times the resolution of 35mm and digital projection. Film runs through the projector at 112-feet per minute and weighs about 40 pounds a reel.
The Music Box is offering more 70mm films ahead. Its annual 70mm Film Festival will be held over two weeks in February.
