So I was scrolling through my phone, minding my own business, when an SM Cinema ad showed up on my feed talking about SCREENX. And I immediately screenshotted it and sent it to my wife with zero context other than “I want to try this someday.”
Because… the 2026 live-action Moana film was what was featured in the image and I immediately felt a little sad that we hadn’t watched it on that screen.
Let me explain.
First, Moana (A Quick Overview)
If you somehow haven’t seen it yet… Moana follows a young girl from the island of Motunui who sets out across the open ocean to find the demigod Maui and restore the heart of Te Fiti, a goddess whose stolen heart has been slowly destroying her island and everything her people depended on.
It’s a beautiful film.
The ocean is practically its own character… vast, breathing, alive.
The water surrounds Moana constantly.
It pulls at her, pushes her, saves her, challenges her.
And then there’s Hei Hei, the most gloriously useless chicken to ever accidentally board a canoe, staring wide-eyed at the endless blue around him with absolutely no plan and no understanding of the situation whatsoever.
That chicken is all of us on a bad day.
The visuals are stunning even on a regular screen.
The waves, the horizon stretching in every direction, the night sky over the open water… these are scenes that deserve to be bigger than a normal movie screen.
Which brings me to why I’m genuinely sad we missed watching it on SCREENX.
Still… I’m thankful that because of Disney Studios Philippines (@disneystudiosph), Davao Bloggers Society and Monster Radio BT 99.5 Davao we were able to watch the advance screening invitation of the 2026 live-action Moana film at SM Lanang Premier Cineme although it wasn’t on SCREENX.
What Is SCREENX?
SCREENX is a panoramic film format that presents movies with a 270-degree expanded screen, projecting images not just on the front screen but also on the left and right side walls of the theater. It was first developed in 2012 by CJ 4DPlex, a subsidiary of the CJ CGV group, the same company behind 4DX motion theater technology. A combination of both SCREENX and 4DX is called Ultra 4DX.
As of 2022, the technology is installed in 364 screens across 37 countries. SM Cinema bringing SCREENX here is genuinely exciting for Filipino moviegoers who want something beyond the standard viewing experience.
The way it works is that films are formatted either during production or converted in post-production to match the multi-screen setup.
Films shot natively for SCREENX typically use three cameras simultaneously. The process involves scene selection, color grading, and specialized mastering before the film ever hits theaters.
Most SCREENX films are live-action because the additional CGI work required for animated films is genuinely complex and expensive. The 2026 live-action Moana film being adapted for the format makes it a rare and special release because animated films almost never get this treatment.
Why Moana on SCREENX Would Have Been Something Else
Moana is essentially a film about the ocean surrounding you from every direction.
The water is everywhere.
The scale of it is part of the emotional story.
When Moana is alone on that canoe in the middle of the Pacific with nothing but water in every direction… that moment is supposed to feel overwhelming and enormous.
On a normal screen, it’s beautiful.
On a 270-degree screen with water wrapping around the walls on both sides of you in the theater…
I want to feel what Hei Hei feels.
That wide-eyed, frozen, existential realization that the ocean goes on forever in every direction and there is nothing you can do about it.
I want to sit in that chair and feel genuinely small in the best possible way.
And maybe scream a little on the inside.
That chicken understands something we don’t.
Bok? Bok-bok? Bokoooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkk!
What’s Next for SCREENX?
The technology is evolving quickly.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton recently revealed that the SCREENX team assisted in the principal photography of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), natively filming select sequences specifically for the panoramic format.
OMG… I have got to see that and hopefully all the past Marvel Avengers films get the same treatment.
CJ 4DPlex introduced a new initiative called “Shot for SCREENX” for this project, meaning certain scenes were designed and captured from the ground up to extend beyond the standard frame onto the side walls.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the first major Hollywood production where the filmmakers worked with SCREENX from production through distribution.
That is a big deal.
It means future films are going to be made specifically with this experience in mind, not just converted after the fact.
The side wall footage will be more intentional, more integrated, more immersive.
Which means… the timing is actually perfect to start paying attention.
And every chance I get, I’ll be watching films on SCREENX.
I’m Willing to Pay Extra for This
And I mean that genuinely.
The regular cinema experience is fine.
IMAX is better.
But a 270-degree screen that wraps around the sides of the theater?
For the right film… that’s not just a movie anymore.
That’s an experience.
Ocean scenes.
Space sequences.
Battle scenes.
Chase sequences.
Anything where scale and surrounding environment matter to the story… all of that becomes something entirely different when the world extends past the edges of where you’re looking.
Put me in the middle of it all!
I told my wife I want to plan a trip to SM specifically for the next big SCREENX release.
And hopefully I get the chance to feel exactly like Hei Hei staring at the ocean.
Whatever film that may be.
