When Watching a Movie Is No Longer Enough

For more than a century, going to the cinema meant sitting quietly in a dark room while a story unfolded on a screen.

Then somebody apparently decided that sitting quietly was overrated.

Today, moviegoers can watch a car chase while their seats move, feel wind during an action sequence, experience water effects during rain scenes and even encounter scents synchronized with what is happening on screen.

Welcome to 4DX—one of the most unusual developments in India’s modern cinema experience.

And in September 2026, the format received another push in India. PVR INOX opened three new auditoriums at its Soul Space Spirit property in Bellandur, Bengaluru, including a new 4DX screen. The addition took the property to seven screens and 1,143 seats. ScanX reported that this was the company’s eighth 4DX experience in Bengaluru.

But the bigger story isn’t simply that Bengaluru has another premium cinema screen.

It is about how India’s multiplex industry is trying to answer a difficult question:

If audiences can watch almost everything at home, why should they still pay to go to a cinema?

From watching the film to feeling it

4DX attempts to provide an answer by turning the auditorium itself into part of the movie.

The technology combines motion-enabled seating with environmental effects. Depending on the film and sequence, viewers can experience movements, wind, water, fog, scents and other physical effects synchronized with the action.

PVR’s own description calls it an immersive experience in which audiences don’t simply see and hear the movie but physically experience elements of it.

Imagine a superhero flying through a city.

On a conventional screen, you see the movement.

In 4DX, your chair can tilt and move with the action.

A storm arrives.

You may get wind and water effects.

A vehicle accelerates.

Your seat moves.

At this point, the cinema has effectively stopped behaving like a cinema and started behaving like a very expensive amusement ride that happens to show a movie.

And that is precisely the attraction.

4DX isn’t new to India

The September 2026 Bellandur expansion should not be confused with the arrival of 4DX in India.

PVR introduced 4DX technology at its Superplex in Noida in 2016. Its historical annual-report material described seats responding to the action and mood of the film, alongside effects including smoke and other sensory elements.

The format has subsequently become part of India’s premium cinema landscape.

PVR INOX’s 2024–25 annual report recorded 35 four-dimensional screens, comprising 28 4DX and seven MX4D screens, as of July 25, 2025.

That is significant.

It means India’s premium cinema strategy isn’t simply about making screens bigger. The industry is experimenting with different ways of making theatrical viewing difficult for the living room to imitate.

Why would audiences pay more?

The answer is experience.

A normal screen competes with a television.

A premium large-format screen competes on scale and picture quality.

IMAX competes through image, sound and scale.

4DX adds something different: physical participation.

That becomes particularly attractive for action, superhero, adventure, fantasy and visually spectacular films.

The current market illustrates this. At PVR Soul Space Spirit in Bellandur, BookMyShow currently lists Spider-Man: Brand New Day in 4DX 3D.

Jaipur’s PVR Mall of Jaipur is also currently listing multiple 4DX titles, including Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Onslaught, The Odyssey and Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups.

The format is therefore not being treated as an occasional novelty.

It is becoming part of the menu of theatrical choices.

India’s premium cinema race

PVR INOX’s strategy gives us an interesting picture of where cinema exhibition is heading.

Its FY2024–25 portfolio included not just 4DX but IMAX, premium large formats such as P[XL] and ScreenX, luxury formats, children’s formats and other specialized experiences. The company reported 267 specialized screens in total at that time.

The objective is straightforward.

Give people a reason to leave the sofa.

That is increasingly important because streaming has changed audience expectations.

At home, viewers have convenience.

They can pause.

They can order food.

They can watch in pyjamas.

Nobody objects if they talk to the television.

Cinema therefore needs to sell something that streaming cannot easily reproduce.

4DX’s answer is simple:

You can’t make your sofa move like this.

At least, not without seriously worrying about the sofa.

But is more technology always better?

Not necessarily.

4DX is designed for immersion, but immersion can become distraction if the effects overpower the story.

A thoughtful drama doesn’t necessarily become better because the chair vibrates.

A dialogue-heavy film may gain little from artificial wind.

And some viewers simply prefer sitting still and watching the cinematography without being physically bounced around.

The premium format also comes with practical considerations. 4DX-style auditoriums have safety and comfort guidelines, and the physical effects mean the experience isn’t suitable for everyone.

That makes format selection important.

The best cinema experience isn’t necessarily the most technologically complicated one.

It is the one that matches the film.

Bengaluru’s latest screen tells a bigger story

The Bellandur expansion is particularly interesting because it comes while PVR INOX continues expanding its overall network.

The company ended FY2026 with 1,798 screens across 359 cinemas in India and Sri Lanka, after adding 93 screens and exiting 18 underperforming screens during the financial year.

That combination is revealing.

Cinema operators are not merely adding screens everywhere.

They are also experimenting with formats and locations that can support premium pricing and stronger differentiation.

The challenge is obvious: premium technology costs money, and audiences will only pay a premium if they believe the experience is worth it.

That makes 4DX less a technological gimmick and more a business experiment in the future of cinema.

The interesting future of moviegoing

The cinema of tomorrow may not have one standard format.

Instead, audiences could choose according to what they want from a particular film.

Want the biggest possible image? Choose IMAX.

Want luxury? Choose a premium format.

Want panoramic visuals? Choose ScreenX.

Want to be physically thrown into the action? Choose 4DX.

Want simplicity? Choose the regular screen.

The film remains the same.

The experience changes.

And that could become one of the biggest advantages physical cinemas have over streaming.

DOONITED Editorial Perspective

There is a funny paradox here.

For years, technology has tried to make entertainment more convenient: smaller devices, cheaper data, streaming libraries and movies available instantly at home.

Cinema is now using technology to persuade people to leave home again.

That is not really a contradiction.

It is evolution.

The theatrical industry has realised that it cannot always beat the living room on convenience. It has to beat it on experience.

4DX is one answer.

Whether every film needs moving seats, wind and water is debatable.

But the underlying idea is sound: when the content itself becomes available everywhere, the experience surrounding that content becomes increasingly valuable.

India’s growing 4DX footprint therefore tells us something bigger than where to find a particular screen.

It tells us that the future of cinema may not be about simply watching a movie.

It may be about giving audiences a reason to say:

“I could watch this at home—but I want to experience it here.”

And that, ultimately, is what the cinema business is trying to sell.

Not just two hours of entertainment.

An experience that the sofa still can’t provide.