Wicker 4DX has turned an offbeat medieval romance into a surprise crowd-pleaser, drawing sold-out shows and expanded bookings after one-night-only screenings filled auditoriums from Times Square to dozens of other locations.
Wicker 4DX brings a sensory twist to romance
Since arriving in U.S. theaters in 2014, 4DX has largely been reserved for action-heavy releases whose chases, battles and weather effects map neatly on to moving seats, wind, water and scent cues. The format, second in popularity among premium large formats behind Imax, is typically compared to a theme-park ride. Yet the new application to Wicker, a modestly budgeted 10.5 million dollar folk romance from filmmakers Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, has revealed another lane for the technology.
The film follows Olivia Colman as the Fisherwoman, who acquires a wicker-man husband crafted by a master basket maker played by Peter Dinklage, with Alexander Skarsgård embodying the towering, supposedly hollow suitor. After generating buzz among cinephiles with its Sundance premiere in January, the movie did not seem an obvious candidate for 4DX. There are no speeding vehicles or even horseback rides, and much of the early action is grounded in village life.
Black Bear, seeking a theatrical win after a prior U.S. rollout underperformed, embraced online jokes wondering what a 4DX version of the film’s bed-breaking romance might be like. At a Regal Cinemas 4DX auditorium in Times Square, chants of “we want the wick” preceded a screening that was among 60 one-night events. Strong demand, with shows widely selling out, led the distributor to extend the limited engagement to a full week.
For much of the runtime, the 4DX effects are sparing. Viewers felt light chair movements to mimic walking and river drift, a gentle knock aligned with a door on screen, and a brief spray timed to an emptied chamber pot. The restraint set the stage for a dramatic escalation once Dinklage’s character delivers the promised Wicker Husband, designed solely to love the Fisherwoman with exuberant devotion.
The ensuing consummation scene, central to the film’s comic reputation, drew raucous laughter and high-pitched reactions, with the synchronized seat jolts amplifying the on-screen mayhem. Audience members, many of them women, reacted to each emphatic motion as the couple’s bed splintered, while the 4DX programming contrasted those sequences with lighter, staccato taps during less satisfying encounters among other villagers.
Despite just a few minutes of high-intensity effects, the sequence fueled extended post-show chatter and social media clips. Outside the bedroom, the film returns to its slower pace, a shift that some attendees met with good-humored groans. Still, the programming choices were praised by attendees for their comic precision.
The response has sparked broader questions about the potential of 4DX for erotic and romantic titles, from possible rereleases of well-known genre staples to reimagined presentations of literary adaptations. While Wicker opened fifth at the North American box office, the 4DX experiment has already delivered an unexpected outcome: proof that the technology can provoke new, playful and communal forms of theatrical engagement beyond traditional action spectacles.