Infinity Vision sounds like Disney’s shiny new answer to IMAX. There’s just one problem: it isn’t actually a new cinema format at all.
There is no Infinity Vision projector. There is no Infinity Vision camera. There is no exclusive Infinity Vision sound system or special aspect ratio.
Instead, Infinity Vision is a certification badge that Disney can place on existing cinema auditoriums that meet a list of minimum standards.
And the timing isn’t exactly difficult to understand.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in Australian cinemas on December 17, 2026.
So does Dune: Part Three.
Unfortunately for Marvel, Denis Villeneuve got to IMAX first.
Infinity Vision Isn’t a New Cinema Technology
Let’s clear up the biggest misconception straight away.
Infinity Vision is not a new projection format.
Even Australian cinema chains are making that clear.
Event Cinemas describes Infinity Vision as a certification for auditoriums that meet Disney’s standards for screen size, sound and projection.
More importantly, Event explicitly says its existing formats such as V-Max, 4DX and SCREENX remain exactly as they are.
HOYTS says essentially the same thing.
Its Xtremescreen, HOYTS APEX and SCREENX auditoriums don’t suddenly become a different piece of technology after receiving the Infinity Vision badge.
Think of Infinity Vision more like a Disney-approved sticker on an experience that already existed.
So Why Does Avengers: Doomsday Need Infinity Vision?
This is where things get interesting.
Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday are heading directly into battle at the Australian box office in December.
Both are currently scheduled for December 17.
However, Dune: Part Three has something Doomsday doesn’t: IMAX.
Warner Bros. and Legendary secured the IMAX release window for Denis Villeneuve’s film, with IMAX committed to Dune: Part Three for the crucial opening weeks.
That left Disney with a problem.
How do you sell one of the biggest Marvel movies ever made as the ultimate premium cinema experience when the world’s best-known premium cinema brand is busy showing the movie next door?
Enter Infinity Vision.
Disney Hasn’t Exactly Hidden the Doomsday Connection
The connection isn’t simply fan speculation either.
Disney’s head of global theatrical distribution, Andrew Cripps, discussed Infinity Vision during an industry event in Barcelona earlier this year.
Cripps acknowledged that Avengers: Doomsday does not have IMAX and explained that Disney wanted a simple way to guide audiences towards high-quality premium screens.
In other words, Disney needed another badge it could put on the poster.
Cripps also described the idea as a shorthand marketing communication designed to point moviegoers towards screens that meet Disney’s chosen standards.
That’s actually a perfectly reasonable business strategy.
But let’s call it what it is.
It’s marketing.
Even IMAX Thinks Infinity Vision Is Marketing
Unsurprisingly, IMAX isn’t particularly impressed.
During the company’s 2026 first-quarter earnings call, IMAX Chief Financial Officer Natasha Fernandes described Infinity Vision as a “pure marketing play”.
Her argument was simple: the auditoriums receiving the badge already existed.
The projector was already there.
The screen was already there.
The sound system was already there.
Infinity Vision didn’t suddenly install some revolutionary new piece of cinema technology overnight.
Disney simply gave qualifying screens another name.
To Be Fair, Infinity Vision Does Have Standards
Now, before we completely write the whole thing off, Infinity Vision isn’t meaningless.
Disney has established genuine technical requirements for cinemas wanting the certification.
Reported standards include a screen at least 45 feet wide, immersive audio such as Dolby Atmos or 7.1 surround sound, and minimum brightness requirements for both 2D and 3D presentation.
So an Infinity Vision badge does provide some reassurance that you’re not walking into the smallest, darkest auditorium at the multiplex.
That’s useful.
But there’s an important distinction.
Those standards certify the cinema auditorium. They don’t create a new movie format.
Infinity Vision vs IMAX Isn’t Really a Fair Comparison
This is why presenting Infinity Vision alongside names such as IMAX can become confusing.
IMAX is an entire cinema ecosystem.
It has proprietary projection systems, cameras, mastering processes and auditorium designs. Some films also offer expanded IMAX aspect ratios that reveal significantly more image than their standard theatrical versions.
Dune: Part Three provides a perfect example.
The film was shot using IMAX film cameras and will receive an IMAX 70mm presentation at IMAX Melbourne.
That presentation will include more than 71 minutes of footage filling the enormous 1.43:1 screen.
That’s something physically different about the presentation.
Infinity Vision doesn’t work that way.
You aren’t watching a movie through an Infinity Vision projection system.
You’re watching it in a V-Max, Xtremescreen, APEX, SCREENX, 4DX or another existing premium auditorium that has also received Disney’s certification.
Australian Cinemas Are Already Rolling Out Infinity Vision
The badge is already appearing across Australia.
HOYTS has Infinity Vision-certified screens at dozens of locations, including Carousel, Karrinyup, Joondalup, Warwick, Currambine, Midland Gate and Rockingham in Western Australia.
Event Cinemas is also promoting Infinity Vision sessions through its Australian network.
Again, though, the cinemas themselves make the distinction clear.
Infinity Vision sits on top of their existing premium experiences rather than replacing them.
Your Xtremescreen didn’t suddenly become Infinity Vision technology.
Your V-Max didn’t get rebuilt.
It simply qualified for Disney’s badge.
Avengers: Endgame Encore Is Already Introducing the Badge
Disney isn’t waiting until December to put Infinity Vision in front of Marvel fans.
Avengers: Endgame Encore returns to Australian cinemas on September 24 and includes an exclusive look at Avengers: Doomsday.
Event Cinemas is already advertising selected Encore screenings as Infinity Vision presentations.
That gives Marvel several months to familiarise audiences with the name before Doomsday arrives.
By December, Disney clearly wants moviegoers to see the Infinity Vision logo and immediately think:
This is the premium way to watch Avengers.
From a marketing perspective, that’s smart.
Meanwhile, Dune Has the Actual IMAX Screens
And that brings us back to the awkward part.
While Disney builds awareness around Infinity Vision, Dune: Part Three will be sitting inside actual IMAX cinemas.
Denis Villeneuve has embraced the format throughout his Dune films, and the final chapter is once again being positioned as a major IMAX event.
It’s also releasing directly against Avengers: Doomsday.
We’ve already taken a look at the new Dune: Part Three trailer, with Villeneuve’s trilogy reaching its conclusion this December.
Meanwhile, Marvel recently unleashed another major look at Doctor Doom during D23, which you can see in our Avengers: Doomsday D23 footage breakdown.
Having those two movies collide on the same weekend was always going to create an enormous battle for premium screens.
Warner Bros. won the IMAX battle.
Disney responded by building another battlefield.
So Is Infinity Vision Bullshit?
Not completely.
The certification does establish minimum quality standards, and anything that encourages cinemas to maintain brighter projection, good sound and large screens is ultimately a win for moviegoers.
There’s nothing wrong with Disney telling audiences which auditoriums it believes provide a strong experience.
The problem comes when Infinity Vision sounds like something it isn’t.
It isn’t another IMAX.
It isn’t a new projection system.
It isn’t a new camera technology.
And your local premium cinema didn’t magically transform because an Infinity Vision logo appeared next to the session time.
It’s a certification and a marketing brand.
Even Disney’s own people have effectively acknowledged that.
The Bottom Line on Infinity Vision
Disney has a giant Marvel movie arriving in December without access to the IMAX footprint it would normally want.
At the same time, Dune: Part Three has locked down the format and is making extensive use of genuine IMAX technology.
So Disney needed another way to tell audiences:
Pay attention to these premium screens.
Infinity Vision gives them exactly that.
It’s clever branding. It sets some worthwhile standards. It may even help audiences find better auditoriums.
But the next time you see a huge Infinity Vision logo beside Avengers: Doomsday, remember what you’re actually buying.
The cinema experience was already there.
Disney just gave it a new sticker.
