[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] The “screen formula” for movie theaters is being disrupted. Following the establishment of ScreenX (multi-screen format), which projects images onto the left and right walls as well as the ceiling, the “9:16” vertical aspect ratio—familiar from smartphones—has now thrown down the gauntlet to theaters. In the era of Over-the-Top (OTT) services, competition for theaters appears to be shifting from “big screens” to “different screens.”

◇The 9:16 Aspect Ratio on Smartphones Takes on the “Wide Screen”
According to the film industry on the 19th, Director Lee Jun-ik’s first short drama, “Father’s Home-Cooked Meals,” will have an exclusive release at Lotte Cinema on the 9th of next month. It is a “vertical cinema” format that retains the portrait orientation—optimized for smartphones—even in theaters. The 61-episode series will first be presented as a 156-minute theatrical version, followed by episode-by-episode releases on the short drama platform Resin Snack.
When the film made its debut last month at the 30th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), it presented an unfamiliar sight: a vertical video displayed in the center of a horizontally elongated theater screen. Although audiences found it strange at first, they reported becoming increasingly immersed in the characters’ expressions and gestures as the screening progressed. Director Lee explained, “Within the vertical frame, viewers will be able to clearly observe even the deepest aspects of the characters.”
Experiments to utilize the vertical screen as a cinematic language are also continuing overseas. In Russia last March, director Dmitry Korelin released the feature film *Vertical*, shot entirely in a 9:16 aspect ratio for its entire 72-minute runtime. In Italy, the “Vertical Movie Festival,” which specializes in 9:16 vertical films, will hold its ninth edition in Rome this coming September.
A film industry insider stated, “Vertical video, which originated from smartphone specifications, is now evolving to develop its own directing style and narrative grammar tailored to the screen,” adding, “The key question is whether the visual grammar we’ve grown accustomed to on mobile devices will establish itself as a distinct viewing experience in theaters as well.”

◇Expanding in All Directions Drew Crowds… “A Different Screen” Becomes a Selling Point
While vertical-format films narrow the screen, ScreenX does the exact opposite by expanding the frame. After initially creating a 270-degree field of view by projecting images from the front to the left and right walls, it has evolved into a four-sided format that utilizes the ceiling as well.
“Spider-Man: A Brand New Day,” which opened last month, is a film that simultaneously demonstrated ScreenX’s changed status and box office appeal. Unlike the traditional method of expanding a completed film to fit ScreenX, this film was produced using the “Shot for ScreenX” approach—the first of its kind in Hollywood—which incorporated ScreenX considerations from the production stage. Of the film’s approximately 145 minutes, about 90 minutes are presented across three screens, while key action sequences extend all the way to the ceiling. This marks a shift where the theater’s screening format is beginning to influence the very way films are shot and directed.
Audience response has been enthusiastic. As of the 18th, the film had drawn approximately 7.61 million viewers in South Korea, with ScreenX accounting for 4.7% (360,000 viewers) of the total—surpassing 4D (4.3%) and IMAX (2.8%). This confirms a demand for an experience that goes beyond simply a larger screen to visuals that extend beyond the boundaries of conventional screens.
Critic Kim emphasized, “In the OTT era, how clearly a theater can provide experiences that are difficult to replicate at home has become a key criterion for choosing a theater,” adding, “While theaters used to sell a ‘bigger screen’ than what’s available at home, they have now begun selling a ‘different screen’ experience.”