Features & Documentaries
IMAX® Dome Theater in Birmingham, AL
A Theater Experience Like No OtherAbout the McWane Science Center IMAX® Dome
The John W. Woods IMAX® Dome Theater features 250 seats beneath a 5-story, 79’ diameter tilted dome screen that fills your entire field of vision. Welcome to the pinnacle of cinematic immersion. Featuring a revolutionary IMAX® with Laser projection system, McWane Science Center’s theater is the only IMAX® Dome in the Southeast.
This theatre now features IMAX® with Laser technology – a next generation laser projection system and 12-channel sound system exclusive to IMAX theatres. IMAX® with Laser is immersive by design, developed from the ground-up to deliver crystal clear, lifelike images and precision sound for a moviegoing experience unlike anything else.
IMAX® with Laser is IMAX’s most advanced theatre experience. It is set apart by a groundbreaking 4k laser projection system that features a new optical engine, custom designed lenses, and a suite of proprietary technology that delivers sharper and brighter images with increased resolution, deeper contrast, and the widest range of colors exclusively to IMAX screens worldwide.
2026 Season Presented By

45m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Drawing on decades of work by the world’s most famous living ethologist and environmentalist, Jane Goodall – Reasons for Hope is an uplifting journey around the globe to highlight good news stories that will inspire people to make a difference in the world around them.
Featured stories such as the Northern Bald Ibis’ migration over the Alps, the re-introduction of the American Bison by the Blackfeet Nation, the worldwide recognized Sudbury Regreening Story, and inspiring youth-led initiatives involved in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots align with historic footage of Jane’s beginnings as a chimpanzee researcher.
Throughout, the film reinforces Jane’s four pillars of hope that signal tremendous hope for the future: the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power and dedication of young people, and the indomitable human spirit.
Jane revolutionized how we view the world around us. Join her on this adventure of inspiration and hope.
David Lickley
Jane Goodall
Peter Beckett
Ervin Carlson
Johannes Fritz


2h 10m Runtime | Rated PG-13 | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Antoine Fuqua
Jaafar Jackson
Juliano Valdi
Colman Domingo


45m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Shark Kingdom is an epic family adventure in some of the world’s most scenic and remote shark waters. Follow shark heroes Jess Cramp, Liv Rose and Cristina Zenato as they dive into the kingdom of sharks, come face to face with these awe-inspiring creatures and uncover their secrets to fight for the future of our shared oceans.
Dave Duce
Matt Tomaszewski
James Seawood
Jess Cramp
Liv Rose
Cristina Zenato


28m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Shark Kingdom is an epic family adventure in some of the world’s most scenic and remote shark waters. Follow shark heroes Jess Cramp, Liv Rose and Cristina Zenato as they dive into the kingdom of sharks, come face to face with these awe-inspiring creatures and uncover their secrets to fight for the future of our shared oceans.
Dave Duce
Matt Tomaszewski
James Seawood
Jess Cramp
Liv Rose
Cristina Zenato


1h 38m Runtime | Rated PG | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Mario ventures into space, exploring cosmic worlds and tackling galactic challenges far from the familiar Mushroom Kingdom.
Aaron Horvath
Michael Jelenic
Chris Pratt
Anya Taylor-Joy
Jack Black


2h 36m Runtime | Rated PG-13 | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Phil Lord
Christopher Miller
Ryan Gosling
Sandra Hüller
Lionel Boyce
Ken Leung
Milana Vayntrub


42m Runtime | NR | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Narrated by Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges, Dream Big: Engineering Our World is a first of its kind film for IMAX® and giant screen theatres that will transform how we think about engineering. From the Great Wall of China and the world’s tallest buildings, to underwater robots, solar cars and smart, sustainable cities, Dream Big celebrates the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small, and reveals the heart that drives engineers to create better lives for people around the world.
Greg MacGillivray
Jeff Bridges


1h 40min Runtime | Rated PG-13 | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Baz Luhrmann returns to Elvis with EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a powerful, interview-free film built from newly discovered archival footage capturing the early days of Presley’s legendary Las Vegas residency and showcasing his electrifying performances and deep musical roots. From intimate rehearsals to unforgettable live moments, this poignant portrait celebrates Elvis’s artistry and evolution into a showbiz icon. Don’t miss it in IMAX!
Baz Luhrmann
Elvis Presley


25min Runtime | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
An entire generation came of age with the indescribable awe of landing on the Moon — and the ensuing Golden Age of Space has changed our world forever for the better. More than 50 years later, what is the next step for humankind? A second golden age of space has quietly dawned on us, with new hope for humanity as a spacefaring species.
In the quest to make human spaceflight accessible within in a decade, not a century, and ultimately affordable to ordinary citizens, leading innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers and daredevils are locked in a race into the unknown. From self-assembling habitats, commercial space stations, launching rockets without fuel to building the Lunar Gateway to deep space, history is in the making as we speak.
Space: The New Frontier captures a time as epic as the Giant Screen, and as real as our present moment. Come aboard: life on earth or in space will not be the same again.
Dave Duce, David Gross, Jake Flannery
Chris Pine


1h 40m Runtime | Rated PG-13 | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
In the near future, a detective (Chris Pratt) stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge (Rebecca Ferguson) he once championed, before it determines his fate.
Timur Bekmambetov
Chris Pratt
Rebecca Ferguson
Michael C. Mahon


3h 15m Runtime | Rating TBA | Closed Caption and Audio Description Available
Return to the world of Jame’s Cameron’s Avatar. Jake and Neytiri’s family grapples with grief after Neteyam’s death, encountering a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the fiery Varang, as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges.
James Cameron
Sam Worthington
Zoe Saldaña
Sigourney Weaver
Stephen Lang
Oona Chaplin
Cliff Curtis
Kate Winslet
Britain Dalton
Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Jack Champion
Bailey Bass


1h 40m Runtime | Rating TBD | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Experience Eric Church’s groundbreaking Evangeline vs. The Machine exclusively in IMAX. Filmed over two electrifying, sold-out nights at The Pinnacle in Nashville, TN. this one-of-a-kind concert event captures the CMA Entertainer of the Year performing his eighth studio album front-to-back before reimagining fan favorites like “Desperate Man,” “Give Me Back My Hometown,” “Sinners Like Me,” “Mistress Named Music,” and “Springsteen.” Backed by a 6-piece band, 4-piece horn section, 4-piece string section, 8-piece choir, and powerhouse vocalist Joanna Cotten, Church transforms the stage into a thrilling fusion of country, rock, blues, and soul.
Reid Long
Eric Church


43m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Join the crew of a giant freight train for an eye-popping, music-infused journey across America. Giant diesels, spectacular terrain, tens of thousands of miles of track—and millions of pounds of freight that can’t wait.
Created by the director of the celebrated IMAX® Experience Rocky Mountain Express and his team, Train Time is captured on 15/70mm motion picture film, the world’s largest film format for exhibition in IMAX® and other giant screen theaters.
To deliver the cargo, Train Time propels audiences through the rugged beauty and vastness of the American landscape, revealing the brutal challenges of railroading, as well as secrets of the art and science of running the greatest trains. Weaving together present-tech and racing steam locomotives, grit, glamour and glorious landscapes, Train Time immerses viewers in a grand tapestry of American railroading.
Climb aboard for the biggest adventure on wheels.
Simon Anthony
Jake Lawrence
Ryan Thornburg
Stephen Low


1h 40m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
When a doubting young boy takes a train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.
Robert Zemeckis
Tom Hanks
Leslie Zemeckis
Eddie Deezen
Nona Gaye
Peter Scolari


1h 48m Runtime | Rated PG | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia 2,” detectives Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia and turns the mammal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before. Oscar® winner Jared Bush (co-director/co-writer “Zootopia,” director/co-writer “Encanto”) is directing and writing; Yvett Merino (Oscar-winning producer “Encanto”) produces. “Zootopia 2” hits theaters November 26.
Jared Bush
Byron Howard
Jared Bush
Yvett Marino
Ginnifer Goodwin
Jason Bateman
Ke Huy Quan
Fortune Feimster
Idris Elba
Bonnie Hunt
Don Lake
Nate Torrence
Jenny Slate
Alan Tudyk
Maurice LaMarche
Leah Latham
Josh Dallas
Tommy Chong
Mark Rhino Smith
Raymond Persi


2h 18m Runtime | Rated PG | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.
Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).
Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.
As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.
Wicked: For Good also stars Emmy nominee Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Glinda’s fawning assistants, Pfannee and ShenShen and BAFTA and Grammy nominee Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change) as the voice of Elphaba’s childhood nanny, Dulcibear.
The film is produced by returning Tony and Emmy winning powerhouse Marc Platt p.g.a. and by multiple Tony winner David Stone. The executive producers are Stephen Schwartz, David Nicksay, Jared LeBoff, Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The first film, Wicked, released in November 2024, earned 10 Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Oscars® for Costume Design and Production Design. To date, the film has grossed $750 million worldwide.
Wicked: For Good is based on the generation-defining musical stage play with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, from the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire. The screenplay is by Winnie Holzman and Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox. The film score is by John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
Cynthia Erivo
Ariana Grande
Jonathan Bailey
Ethan Slater
Bowen Yang
Marissa Bode
with Michelle Yeoh
and Jeff Goldblum
Jon M. Chu


46m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Soar with The Blue Angels in a brand-new documentary featuring never-before-seen footage that chronicles a year with the Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron—from selection through the challenging training and demanding show season—showcasing the extraordinary teamwork, passion, and pride that fuels America’s best, the Blue Angels.
Paul Crowder


40m Runtime | Closed Caption and Audio Description Available
Narrated by Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey, Superhuman Body: World of Medical Marvels explores the inner workings of the human body and the incredible breakthroughs in science and bioengineering that are changing the course of human health. Told through the inspiring personal stories behind these groundbreaking medical innovations, Superhuman Body shows the extraordinary ways our bodies work, and how science and technology help us to intervene when things go wrong.
Matthew McConaughey
Greg MacGillivray


94m Runtime | Rated G | Close Caption and Audio Description Available
Ready for takeoff? Glen Powell and J.J. Abrams invite you to experience the ride of a lifetime this May when The Blue Angels soars into IMAX. The Blue Angels follows the veterans and newest class of Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron as they go through intense training and into a season of heart-stopping aerial artistry.
Omar Shariff
Kate Maberly
Timothy Davies
Paul Crowder


1hr 30m Runtime | Rated PG | Closed Caption and Audio Description Available
The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl’s generous holiday spirit.
Scott Mosier
Yarrow Cheney
Benedict Cumberbatch
Cameron Seely
Rashida Jones
Mindy Sterling
Pharell Williams
Angela Lansbury
Kenan Thompson
Scarlett Estevez
Tucker Chandler
Sam Lavagnino
Townsend Coleman
Lori Alan


James Hood’s Beautifica
From the creators of the multi award-winning MESMERICA comes a brand-new epic immersive experience unlike any other.
Beautifica is a 360 journey through worlds real and imagined, from mindblowing particle fields to unashamedly euphoric fantastic environments almost impossible to describe.
The brainchild of visionary composer James Hood working with some of the finest immersive animators on the planet, this family-friendly show is a feast for the senses, which will leave your spirit refreshed and your face grinning ear to ear.
IMAX® Dome Frequently Asked Questions
The IMAX® Dome is designed to fill your entire field of vision as audio surrounds you to create a truly immersive sight and sound experience. The screen is comprised of hundreds of precision-engineered and highly reflective perforated aluminum panels. The laser projection system creates images of unsurpassed contrast, clarity, and luminance. And six channels of ultra-high fidelity digital surround sound deliver clear, enveloping audio. It’s truly a theater experience like no other!
Refreshments are offered at our Concession Stand, located at the entrance to the IMAX® Dome Theater, including fresh gourmet popcorn, assorted candies, and bottled soft drinks. The concession stand opens fifteen minutes before the first scheduled movie and closes after the last queued guest is served following the final scheduled movie of the day.
We’re sorry, but all ticket purchases are non-refundable.
Yes! We offer museum combo tickets that include one IMAX ® ticket and general admission to the museum. Do note that combo tickets can only be purchased for documentary-length films, and not feature-length films. To learn more about combo tickets and museum admissions, visit our Purchase Tickets page.
Questions About the IMAX® Dome Theater?
Please reach out to our Reservations Department for questions about the movie-going experience here at McWane Science Center. Our Reservations Department can answer your questions about the theater. For all other inquiries, please visit our contact page.




