Mann Theaters installs first IMAX screen at Plymouth Grand 15 in $2 million upgrade

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - Mann Theaters, a family-owned chain with more than 90 years in the business, has installed its first-ever IMAX screen at its flagship Plymouth Grand 15 location — bringing a premium movie experience to a part of the metro that didn't have one before.

The big investment

What we know:

The new IMAX setup features a 55x30-foot screen, upgraded speakers and a laser projector. According to co-owner Michelle Mann, the company has never invested $2 million into a single screen before.

"We are doing it because people want the biggest, the best, right? The best sound, the best screen, the experience," said Mann.

Mann said the decision to install the IMAX screen was made months before Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" became the highest-grossing IMAX movie ever — a film driven in part by Gen Z audiences seeking out premium formats. That film's success, she said, signals more IMAX projects on the way.

"More and more directors and filmmakers are really interested to use the biggest and the best," Mann said. "And they've been investing a lot of time and money and energy into making films specific for IMAX."

'They're excited that it's right in their backyard'

Why you should care:

The northwest metro area previously had no IMAX option, making this installation a first for that part of the Twin Cities. Mann Theaters has spent decades using amenities like popcorn and recliners to draw audiences in, but this marks the chain's largest single-screen investment to date.

Making the case for theaters

The backstory:

With streaming continuing to compete for audiences at home, theater owners across the country have been looking for ways to bring people back. For Mann Theaters, the IMAX investment represents its answer to that challenge — and its biggest one yet in more than nine decades of operation.

'It just makes more an event out of seeing a movie'

What's next:

The IMAX theater at Plymouth Grand 15 is set to make its debut with the Tom Cruise film "Digger" on Oct. 1. Mann said the company is confident the investment will pay off.

"We are so excited, just really excited to create an elevated experience that again, you cannot get around the northwest metro area," Mann said.