New Movie Theaters Will Let Audiences Feel Rain, Snow and Wind

Remember the good ‘ol days, when you went to movies to get out of the rain and escape the snow? That kind of thinking is sooo 2014. In 2015, the movies will rain and snow on you! Cats and dogs, living together! Mass hysteria! CJ 4DPlex, the company behind various 4D theaters around the world, has revealed the latest additions to its bag of tricks, which now include rain effects, snow effects and blasts of warm air.

Anyone who has been to a theme park in the past decade is probably familiar with the “4D” experience, which typically involves a theater full of people watching something in 3D as they’re splashed with water, blasted with air and generally manhandled into shock and surprise. These kinds of effects have been slowly creeping into theaters around the world, although they have yet to truly break into North American multiplexes. CJ 4DPlex’s theaters already feature “motion, water, fog, wind, air, lightning, bubbles, ticklers, scents and vibration,” so rain, snow and warm air feel like the next logical step.

Variety says that the company plans to unveil these new effects at this year’s CinemaCon, where theater owners from around the world gather together to check out the latest, greatest and most eyebrow raising new technologies in the field of film exhibition. With movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and San Andreas on the Horizon, CJ 4DPlex is hoping that their newest effects will entice theater owners into upgrading their theaters for a new “4DX” experience.

Here’s the big question: do most theatergoers want this experience? Do they want to emerge from a movie covered with water? Do they want air to blast them in the face when they’re just trying to watch Furious 7 and eat some popcorn? This kind of experience is fine in a theme park environment, where attractions are usually no longer than 15 minutes, but can audiences endure 150 minutes of Avengers: Age of Ultron while being hit with special effects?

The niche popularity of DBOX proves that there is definitely an audience of people wanting to add a little extra spice to the moviegoing experience. Only time will tell is we’re ready to get drenched in foam that looks like snow in the name of immersion.