Filmed For IMAX Filmed For IMAX filmmaker partnership and certified-camera program

What Filmed For IMAX is

Filmed For IMAX is a program, not a projection format. IMAX's annual report calls it "IMAX's filmmaker partnership program": participating filmmakers use IMAX technology from pre-production through release, and most such films use the expanded aspect ratio for some or all sequences. The report states that Filmed For IMAX movies are shot with either an IMAX-certified digital camera or an IMAX film camera. The pictures it enables are described in IMAX expanded aspect ratio, and the rooms that show them in IMAX.

IMAX announced the original program on September 17, 2020 under the name Filmed in IMAX. Its release said certification applies "when paired with its proprietary post-production process," and that IMAX selects only a limited number of films for the program each year. The business case is in the filing: Filmed For IMAX titles released in 2025 each earned more than $40.0 million in global IMAX box office, and IMAX credits the program for a record 5.2% domestic market share and a record 3.8% global share.

Which cameras are certified

The 2020 launch list had six cameras: ARRI ALEXA LF, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Panavision Millennium DXL2, RED RANGER MONSTRO, Sony VENICE, and ARRI ALEXA 65 IMAX (previously announced with ARRI Rental). A March 29, 2026 report in FDTimes, noting that Fujifilm's GFX ETERNA 55 had just been certified, lists ten cameras in all: those six plus RED V-RAPTOR, Sony VENICE 2, ARRI ALEXA 265 and the Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55. I could not load IMAX's own certified-camera page, so treat this as the latest list I could verify rather than a complete one.

The Fujifilm body shows how the certification relates to shape. Its Open Gate sensor measures 43.63 × 32.71 mm, a 4:3 (1.33:1) frame close to IMAX's 1.43:1 target. In my reading, a taller sensor gives more vertical image for the expanded frame, which is why the list leans toward large-format bodies.

Timeline and scale

The program started on September 17, 2020 with 6 certified cameras and 3 certified rental houses (Panavision, ARRI and Keslow Camera). By March 29, 2026, about 5.5 years later, FDTimes counted 10 cameras, so four were added in that span. The commercial case is strong: each 2025 Filmed For IMAX title earned more than $40.0 million in global IMAX box office, and IMAX attributes a record 5.2% domestic share and 3.8% global share partly to the program. IMAX says it has deployed 4 new 65mm film cameras, and the 26% extra picture promised in 2020 remains the headline benefit for audiences.

What it requires

IMAX has not published numeric thresholds. The 2020 release says each production gets best-practice guidelines to capture at each camera's highest quality and settings, that IMAX works with camera makers on research, production testing and post-production, and that independent rental houses can be certified to supply the cameras worldwide, starting with Panavision, ARRI and Keslow Camera. A spokesperson told FDTimes that "Our certification is an evolving program, and we evaluate each camera on a case-by-case basis," with the focus on overall image performance.

The common requirement is the output: the footage goes through IMAX's post-production so it can play on IMAX projection at the expanded ratio. The 2020 release promised at least 26% more picture than standard theaters.

Digital certified vs IMAX film cameras

The program covers two kinds of capture. FDTimes describes "Shot with IMAX" as the category for IMAX film cameras and Filmed For IMAX as the category for certified digital cameras; the annual report folds both under one program name. IMAX says it has deployed four of its all-new 65mm film cameras, and a YMCinema commentary reports the company has nine operational IMAX film cameras. That commentary also notes that of roughly 50 titles in IMAX's 2024 to 2026 investor slate, 21 carry the film-camera icon, and argues IMAX should separate film-camera titles from certified-digital ones. That is the author's critique, not IMAX's statement.

Digital sensors vs the film frame

The size gap between the two capture routes is large. The Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55's Open Gate sensor is 43.63 × 32.71 mm, about 1,427 mm². An IMAX 15/70 frame is 69.6 × 48.5 mm, about 3,376 mm², so the film frame has roughly 2.4 times the area (arithmetic from the Wikipedia and FDTimes dimensions). Certified digital cameras therefore trade area for convenience, and IMAX's post-production process is what prepares their footage for projection on screens as large as 18 × 24 m. The 10-K counts 757 laser systems, 1,089 xenon systems and 52 film systems at the end of 2025, so most screens that show digitally captured Filmed For IMAX footage are digital projection rooms, not film.

Examples

Dune: Part Two used an ARRI ALEXA 65 as its main camera, with ALEXA LF and Mini LF bodies for added or compact setups. The American Society of Cinematographers reports it was shot entirely for the 1.43:1 IMAX frame, with 1.90:1 and 2.39:1 framing protected. The Odyssey is the opposite end of the program: it is described as the first feature shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, on more than two million feet of Kodak 65mm film, and it was shown on 15/70mm film at about 41 venues. Dune: Part Three is slated for IMAX 70mm film, per IMAX's June 2026 release.

Filmed For IMAX vs IMAX Enhanced

Filmed For IMAX describes how a film was captured and finished for theaters. IMAX Enhanced is the separate home certification for TVs, projectors and receivers, and its content reaches viewers through services such as Disney+. Owning an IMAX Enhanced TV does not mean you see the expanded frame unless the stream or disc includes it. The wider format comparison is in 65mm and 70mm film.