California-based Bigscreen Inc, a social virtual reality movie watching platform, and legendary Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures announced on 16 December a multi-year agreement to distribute classic 2D & 3D films in 10 countries worldwide.
In Bigscreen’s virtual world, users can customize personal avatars, hang out in a virtual lobby, and voice chat with other movie fans. Movies are streamed on screens inside virtual cinemas, providing a social movie watching experience.
Beginning December 16, four new movies will premiere in Bigscreen every week. Movies will run for one week with a new lineup of movies available the following week. Films are broadcast live on a pay-per-view basis with scheduled showtimes every half an hour.
December’s lineup included blockbusters like Interstellar and Star Trek. For a full list of upcoming screenings and showtimes, visit: bigscreenvr.com/cinema/comingsoon.
“Bigscreen’s virtual reality platform offers a new way for fans to experience films in their homes,” Bob Buchi, President of Worldwide Home Entertainment at Paramount Pictures, said in a statement. “We’re excited to be a part of this experiment using cutting-edge technology to give fans a new entertainment option.”
“We are excited to enable fans around the world to chat and watch films together in our virtual movie theater,” Darshan Shankar, CEO and founder of Bigscreen, added.
Bigscreen’s virtual screenings will be available in 10 countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, and Japan.
In addition to 2D screenings, Bigscreen will also broadcast select movies in 3D. Bigscreen says that its rendering technology “uses VR to create a perfect 3D picture in each eye, producing a level of depth and detail that is not possible with traditional 3D glasses”.
Bigscreen can be downloaded for free from bigscreenvr.com and runs on the Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, HTC Vive, Valve Index, all SteamVR headsets, and all Microsoft Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
Tickets can be purchased through Bigscreen’s website: bigscreenvr.com/cinema
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