‘You’re part of the tornado’: the summer of moviegoing game-changer 4DX

I’m not alone in my glowing assessment. Though 4DX has existed in the US for a decade – it first arrived for Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014 – Twisters marked a high point for the format, which is enjoying a breakout summer. The film broke a domestic box office record for 4DX with $2.3m from 62 US auditoriums during opening weekend. Viral TikToks captured the experience of leaving a Twisters screening with streaked mascara, jostling in the theaters’ 4-chair pods and seeing God (with your shocked parents) in the wind tunnel. A week later, Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed Twisters’ record with $2.8m, giving 4DX its two most successful weekends to date back to back. 4DX, the second most popular of so-called “premium large format” viewing options to Imax, accounted for a solid portion of this month’s box office for Alien: Romulus.