High frame rate (HFR) cinema

At 24 frames per second, fast movement and camera pans judder, and 3D makes it worse. Doubling the frame rate smooths motion and reduces strain. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) brought 48 fps to wide release; Gemini Man (2019) was shown at 120 fps in 3D on a small number of screens; Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) used higher frame rates for selected scenes.

The trade-off is aesthetic. Many viewers read smooth motion as looking like video rather than film, and very few productions have chosen it.

HFR doubles or more the amount of picture data per second, so it needs a media block and server that support it, a projector that can run the rate, and in 3D a system that can keep up with alternating eyes. Distributors normally ship a 24 fps version alongside, and the HFR version as a separate composition — so the playlist has to pick the right one and the KDM has to match it.

Given how few titles use it, the practical question for most cinemas is not whether to invest in HFR but whether their existing chain already supports it, which most recent installations do.