As local movie fans become more careful with their spending at theaters, high-end cinema experiences led by the IMAX giant screen are emerging as the main catalyst behind Korea’s summer box office rebound. The domestic box office is seeing a strong comeback as major summer blockbusters bring crowds back to theaters. Driven by the hot weather and peak holiday season, people are heading to air-conditioned cinemas for big-screen visual spectacles they cannot get at home on streaming platforms. According to recent data by CJ CGV, the nation's largest cinema chain, nationwide theater attendance reached roughly 9.55 million from July 29 to Aug. 9. This marks the highest summer attendance since 2019, and showed a 45.6 percent jump from the same period last year. The multiplex chain added visitor numbers at CGV theaters alone rose 58.1 percent. Instead of going to regular screens, moviegoers are choosing high-tech theaters that offer an experience worth the ticket price. Data from the Korean Film Council showed that Hollywood blockbusters "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey" captured