'Oppenheimer,' 'Sound of Freedom' Glitches Reveal Big Movie Theater Issue

Sound of Freedom audiences aren't the only movie watchers to encounter inconvenient theater issues, with Oppenheimer now in the same boat.

Despite being one of the summer's biggest blockbusters, tech problems have plagued the launch of Christopher Nolan's movie, with one filmmaker who encountered issues at his screening telling Newsweek the mistakes were "comical."

Conspiracy theories had been circulating online that for some reason, cinemas were "suppressing" audiences from watching Sound of Freedom—a claim refuted by both AMC and the film's production company. That didn't stop the rumors as social media users shared pictures and videos of Sound of Freedom screenings being mysteriously shut down for a number of reasons.

However, now Oppenheimer seems to be suffering from similar issues, as some showings of Nolan's latest epic have been hampered by issues. There doesn't appear to be a conspiracy behind these problems though, as it looks likely to be down to Nolan's decision to release Oppenheimer in 70 mm.

Filmmaker and YouTuber Patrick Tomasso was at an opening night IMAX screening in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. With 40 minutes of the film remaining, the movie "just stopped."

"[We were] confused at first, and then honestly [it felt] a bit comical," Tomasso told Newsweek, describing the mood within his screening of Oppenheimer. "I have a feeling most people in attendance were film buffs and understood that it was quite the feat of projection engineering to screen the film so there wasn't much animosity from what I could gather from my perspective."

70mm is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, and refers to the size of the physical film being it's projected onto the screen. Nolan has stated that this is the optimal way to view Oppenheimer. "The headline, for me, is by shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you're really letting the screen disappear. You're getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You've got a huge screen and you're filling the peripheral vision of the audience. You're immersing them in the world of the film." he told The Associated Press in June.

However, in a digital world, it's now become an issue for movie theaters to revert back to 70mm in the opinion of professional projectionists.

"I had some knowledge of just how insane the print was for IMAX, it's huge," Tomasso said. "Having been a projectionist in the early 2000s I knew even projecting 35mm was difficult, let alone 70mm at a runtime that's never been attempted before. I wasn't all that surprised when I heard the tech issues were so widespread."

British movie blogger and former projectionist Paul Ferrer also appreciates the challenge Nolan set for cinemas.

"The tech issues with Oppenheimer are likely due to a lack of technical knowledge as these cinemas got rid of projectionists over a decade ago and those that are left haven't the knowledge and experience running film. It's one thing Christopher Nolan wanting Oppenheimer playing in cinemas on film the problem is the equipment used in many cinemas probably hasn't been maintained as well as it should be," he told Newsweek.

Oppenheimer launched worldwide on July 21, but almost two weeks after release, there are still frequent glitches tarnishing the theater experience for viewers.

"I figured it was opening weekend issues that would be resolved. Fast forward to today though, and I still get comments hourly from people that are still experiencing tech issues which is just wild," Tomasso said. "I know they've extended the IMAX run, which would make one assume they've figured out all the kinks, but that doesn't really seem to be the case. I'm sure there's far more successful screenings than one's with issues but we're nearly 3 weeks into the film's run and people are still saying they've had shutdowns mid-film, audio problems, bulb flicker, and dirty/scratched prints."

There have been a number of social media users sharing their stories of screening issues. Reddit user u/JakeBurnsRed shared a picture of his cinema where the "power went out 20 minutes into Oppenheimer." The issues didn't end there though.

"Waited about an hour for it to be restored and movie restarted, only for the movie to restart again automatically at the next show time and being kicked out of the theater. Didn't get to see the last 30 minutes or so," the Reddit user wrote as thousands of people commented on his woes.

What caused Sound of Freedom's issues?

While Oppenheimer's woes can be attributed to a mismatch between analogue and digital tech, Sound of Freedom's issues are harder to explain.

Soon after the movie's release on July 4, various social media users started to go viral for sharing stories of theaters abruptly stopping the movies. These issues have included broken air conditioning, unexplained fire alarms, lighting glitches and more.

While the finger was pointed at AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas venues, the AMC CEO Adam Aron denied allegations they were "suppressing attendances" for the movie. The producers of Sound of Freedom, the Harmon brothers who started Angel Studios, thanked him for his support.

Despite this public interaction, conspiracy theories continued to suggest there was a reason that Sound of Freedom, a true story about Tim Ballard's mission to stop a global child sex-traffick ring, was having a tough time at cinemas.

"I did hear about the issues with Sound of Freedom but they do sound like conspiracy theories with people looking for a story that's not there as AMC and studio Angel denied it, of course denying it just makes it even more of a conspiracy," professional projectionist Ferrer told Newsweek. "I guess as with Oppenheimer these are just random tech issues that happen all the time but social media and TikTok make them into a story."

Sound of Freedom and Oppenheimer's combined problems within theaters may be down to the lack of investment put into the movie theater industry, suggests Tomasso, as the rise of streaming has provided an alternative place to showcase new releases.

"I put all of this on the cinemas themselves. I don't think it's Nolan's fault or even IMAX's— theaters have been complaining about streaming for years now, and as soon as they get a massive opportunity to remind the world that going to the movies is an experience that can't be replicated at home they fumble the bag," Tomasso said.

Both Oppenheimer and Sound of Freedom have seen spectacular returns at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo, Oppenheimer has made over $419 million worldwide since it was released on July 21. Sound of Freedom, which was made with a significantly smaller budget, has made $153 million domestically, and has yet to be released internationally. Add to these figures the number 1 movie in the world right now, Barbie which has taken in over $800 million, and it's clear to see that movie theaters are enjoying a boost, the likes of which we haven't seen since before the pandemic.

Newsweek has reached out to the IMAX Corporation via email for further comment on the issues Oppenheimer has allegedly faced in cinemas.