CinemaCon: ‘Pirates’ Sequel Preview Gets Dolby Tech Installation

When Disney screens Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on Tuesday at CinemaCon, theater owners will be treated to Dolby Vision high dynamic range imagery and Dolby Atmos immersive sound.

It was no small task, but Dolby temporarily installed these technologies in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, for Pirates and other special preview clips this week. That includes use of Atmos during portions of the STX, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox slate presentations.

As CinemaCon was getting underway in Las Vegas, Dolby also confirmed some new upcoming titles that will be created with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision for Dolby Cinema, Paramount’s May 26 release Baywatch, STX’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (July 21), Warner Bros.’ King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (May 12), Annabelle 2 (Aug. 11), The Lego Ninjago Movie (Sept. 21). Blade Runner 2049 (Oct. 6) and Justice League (Nov. 17).

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The temporary Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision installation at the Colosseum wasn’t easy. “The room is designed for more than movies,” said Doug Darrow, senior vp of Dolby’s cinema business group. “We took the technology and staged it in a warehouse near Caesars Palace beforehand. Since it’s an operating venue, there’s not a lot of prep time. We have to be ready on short notice.”

The Dolby Vision laser projection system, co-developed with Christie, includes dual 4K laser projectors as part of the installation. The Atmos installation includes 32 side and overhead speakers, 24 rear surround stacks and 28 mezzanine surround speakers. Dolby began loading the gear into the Colosseum last Thursday morning. The Dolby Atmos system was rigged that afternoon, and on Friday it was wired and tested, which takes about 10 hours. Saturday morning the final audio tuning and QC was conducted.

To date, there have been roughly 85 Dolby Cinema theaters installed globally, including 65 sites at AMC locations in the U.S.

As CinemaCon opened, Dolby additionally announced that Dolby Cinema is launching in the Middle East thanks to a deal with Emaar Entertainment’s Reel Cinemas. The first site expected to open later this year at the flagship Reel Cinema location at the Dubai Mall.

“This marks another milestone for Dolby Cinema as we expand our global reach spanning across the U.S., China, Europe and now the Middle East,” Darrow said.