When I watched The Amazing Spider-Man a couple of weeks back, one of the things I was not impressed with, in addition to the movie, was the IMAX screen. I didn't get what IMAX was about at least when I was watching this movie. Now I know why, it wasn't the real IMAX screen but a newer, smaller IMAX Digital technology. As I had just found out, it's commonly called lieMAX.

With The Dark Knight Rises releasing on July 20, I am sure many of you are planning to watch it and maybe even watch it in IMAX especially when half the movie was shot in that format. There may even be a local multiplex chain that claims it has an IMAX screen that you have your eyes on. Please do you yourself a favor and skip it to watch the movie in a regular theater instead. You will not be losing much.

A REAL IMAX film is a 70MM film that's technically called 15/70, meaning 15 perforations per frame. This film runs through the projector horizontally because of its size and shows more image per frame compared to the regular 35mm film which runs vertically. See the image below to see the size difference and you'll understand.

So, now relatively there are very few theaters that have the 15/70 film projection system that apparently is preferred as the best way to experience IMAX. Chances are that your local IMAX doesn't have this and what they are really doing is ripping you off sideways with the high ticket prices.

To see the complete list of theaters (including museums) that have Real IMAX, see the list below. If your theater is not in this list, then watch the movie in a regular theater and save some money.

AL    
Birmingham  McWane Science Center 1570
Huntsville  U.S. Space and Rocket Center 1570
Mobile  Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center 1570


AZ

    
Grand Canyon  National Geographic Visitor Center at the Grand Canyon 1570
Phoenix  Arizona Science Center 1570
Tempe  Harkins Arizona Mills 25 1570

CA
    
Cathedral City  Desert IMAX Theater 1570/4K
Dublin  Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 21 & IMAX 1570 DIG
Fresno  Regal Fresno Stadium 22 & IMAX 1570 DIG
Irvine  Regal Irvine Spectrum 21 & IMAX 1570
Los Angeles  California Science Center 1570
Los Angeles  Rave 18 & IMAX 1570
Ontario  Regal Ontario Palace Stadium 22 & IMAX 1570
Sacramento  Esquire IMAX Theatre 1570
San Diego  Reuben H. Fleet Science Center 1570
San Francisco  AMC Loews Metreon 16 & IMAX 1570
San Jose  Tech Museum of Innovation 1570
Universal City  AMC Universal Citywalk Stadium 19 & IMAX 1570

CO		    
Colorado Springs  Cinemark Carefree Circle & IMAX 1570 DIG
Denver  Regal Colorado Center 9 & IMAX 1570 DIG


CT

    
Manchester  Rave Buckland Hills 18 & IMAX 1570 DIG
Norwalk  Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk 1570

DC		    
Washington  National Air and Space Museum 1570
Washington  National Museum of Natural History 1570

FL		    
Fort Lauderdale  Museum of Discovery and Science 1570
Kennedy Space Center  IMAX 1 1570
Kennedy Space Center  IMAX 2 1570
NAS Pensacola  National Naval Aviation Museum 1570
Orlando  Orlando Science Center 1570
Orlando  Regal Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 & IMAX 1570
Tampa  Museum of Science and Industry 1570

GA		    
Atlanta  Fernbank Museum of Natural History 1570
Buford  Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium 20 & IMAX 1570 DIG
Columbus  National Infantry Museum 1570

IA		    
Council Bluffs  AMC Star Council Bluffs 17 & IMAX 1570
Des Moines  Science Center of Iowa 1570

ID		    
Boise  Regal Boise Stadium 21 & IMAX 1570 DIG

IL		    
Chicago  Museum of Science and Industry 1570
Chicago  Navy Pier IMAX Theatre 1570
Lincolnshire  Regal Lincolnshire Stadium 21 & IMAX 1570 DIG
Woodridge  Cinemark @ Seven Bridges & IMAX 1570 DIG

IN		    
Indianapolis  Indiana State Museum 1570

KS		    
Hutchinson  Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center 1570

KY		    
Louisville  Louisville Science Center 1570

LA		    
New Orleans  Entergy IMAX Theatre 1570
Shreveport  Sci-Port 1570

MA		    
Boston  Museum of Science 1570
Boston  New England Aquarium 1570
Natick  Jordan's Furniture 1570
Reading  Jordan's Furniture 1570

MD		    
Baltimore  Maryland Science Center 1570

MI		    
Dearborn  The Henry Ford 1570
Grand Rapids  Celebration! Cinema Grand Rapids North & IMAX 1570 DIG

MN		    
Apple Valley  Great Clips IMAX at Minnesota Zoo 1570
Saint Paul  Science Museum of Minnesota 1570
Shakopee  Valleyfair Family Amusement Park 1570

MO		    
Branson  Branson's IMAX Entertainment Complex 1570
Kansas City  Science City at Union Station 1570
Saint Louis  Gateway Arch 1570
Saint Louis  Saint Louis Science Center 1570

MT		    
West Yellowstone  Yellowstone IMAX Theatre 1570

NC		    
Charlotte  Discovery Place, Inc. 1570

NE		    
Omaha  Henry Doorly Zoo 1570

NJ		    
Atlantic City  Tropicana Casino And Resort 1570
Jersey City  Liberty Science Center 1570

NM		    
Alamogordo  New Mexico Museum of Space History 1570

NV		    
Las Vegas  Brenden Theatres and IMAX at the Palms 1570 DIG

NY		    
Garden City  Cradle of Aviation Museum 1570
New Rochelle  Regal New Roc Stadium 18 & IMAX 1570 DIG
New York  AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 & IMAX 1570
New York  American Museum of Natural History 1570
Rochester  Cinemark Tinseltown USA & IMAX 1570 DIG
Syracuse  Museum of Science and Technology 1570
West Nyack  IMAX Theatre at Palisades Center 1570

OH		    
Cincinnati  Cincinnati Museum Center 1570
Cleveland  Great Lakes Science Center 1570
Dayton  U.S. Air Force Museum Foundation 1570

OK		    
Oklahoma City  Science Museum Oklahoma 1570
Sulphur  Chickasaw Cultural Center 1570
Tulsa  Cinemark Tulsa & IMAX 1570 DIG

OR		    
Portland  Oregon Museum of Science and Industry 1570

PA		    
Harrisburg  Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts 1570
King of Prussia  Regal King of Prussia Stadium & IMAX 1570 DIG
Philadelphia  Franklin Institute Science Museum 1570
Pittsburgh  Carnegie Science Center 1570
Tarentum  Cinemark Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills & IMAX 1570 DIG

RI		    
Providence  National Amusements Providence Place Cinemas 16 & IMAX 1570 DIG

TN		    
Chattanooga  Tennessee Aquarium 1570
Memphis  Memphis Museums, Inc. 1570
Nashville  Regal Opry Mills Stadium 20 & IMAX 1570 DIG

TX		    
Austin  Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum 1570
Dallas  Cinemark 17 & IMAX 1570 DIG
Dallas  Museum of Nature and Science 1570
Fort Worth  Fort Worth Museum of Science and History 1570
Galveston  Moody Gardens 1570/4K
Houston  Regal Houston Marq*e 23 & IMAX 1570
Lubbock  Science Spectrum 1570
San Antonio  Alamo IMAX Theatre 1570
San Antonio  IMAX 3D Theatre San Antonio Rivercenter 1570
San Antonio  Santikos Palladium IMAX 1570 DIG
Tomball  Santikos Silverado 16 IMAX 1570 DIG

VA		    
Chantilly  Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center 1570
Richmond  Science Museum of Virginia 1570
Virginia Beach  Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center 1570

WA		    
Seattle  Pacific Science Center 1570
Seattle  Pacific Science Center 1570 DIG
Spokane  Riverfront Park 1570

WI		    
Fitchburg  AMC Star Fitchburg 18 & IMAX 1570
Milwaukee  Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater 1570

Btw, thanks for your concern, but I didn't actually go to all these theaters to find this info. Here's the source - LFExaminer.  

The site has more theaters listed but I only filtered to show the 15/70 format in the list above including some digital projections.

UPDATE 7/26/2012:
Apparently the 1570 DIG and 1570 4K theaters listed above are not the real 15/70 IMAX theaters either so I have struck them out. So please ignore the ones that have been struck out.