Olivia Colman’s modest folk‑horror romance “Wicker” has been thrust into the high‑octane world of 4DX, turning a Regal cinema in Times Square into an impromptu amusement park for a single week in November 2026. The film, which debuted at Sundance in January of the same year, was never designed for seat‑thumping action, yet its most electrifying moment—a five‑minute climax involving a wicker‑crafted husband and wife—has become the talk of cinephiles and sparked a wider debate about whether erotic cinema can truly belong in immersive formats.
A modest indie finds its thrill ride
The movie, financed with a $10.5 million budget, follows Fisherwoman (Colman) who falls for a towering, hollow wicker man (Alexander Skarsgård) after a promise from a master basket weaver played by Peter Dinklage. Colman herself described the script as a moment of surprise: “I saw the script and went: oooh!” The film’s low‑key setting—rural villages, slow walks, and occasional scowls—makes it an unlikely candidate for 4DX, a format traditionally reserved for block‑buster action pictures like “Fast & Furious” or “Avatar.” Yet Black Bear, the distributor eager to recover after the flop of “Christy,” seized on the novelty of pairing a steamy romance with the motion‑seat technology.
The decision to host 60 “one‑night only” screenings in a single week was driven by overwhelming demand. “We want the wick!” echoed through the Regal’s 4DX auditorium, a chant that quickly spread across social media and even prompted TikTok trends of “getting that wick.” My own screening was sold out, a testament to the buzz surrounding the event.
The 4DX experience turned up the heat
While the bulk of “Wicker” consists of characters ambling about, the film’s climactic bedroom scene is where the format truly shines. The chairs began to judder, the scent machines released a faint moisture, and a light splash of water mimicked the Fisherwoman’s chamberpot being emptied. As the wicker husband tightened his woven shoulders around Colman, the audience’s popcorn flew, and the seats delivered a series of rapid thrusts that felt as if they were physically dismantling the bedposts.
The effect was described by one viewer as “screams on the level of a Taylor Swift concert.” Women beside me, one clutching a homemade wicker basket as a break‑up souvenir, snorted with laughter as the motion intensified. The scene lasted roughly five minutes, a brief but unforgettable interlude that left many in the largely female audience “gagging for a solid log,” as one townsman put it, yearning for more of the same intensity.
Programmers who calibrated the milder “jackhammer taps” for the jealous villagers’ unsatisfying encounters admitted they were playing it safe compared with the main couple’s gallop. Still, the overall experience was hailed as “incredibly inspired entertainment,” a testament to how 4DX can amplify even the most unconventional erotic moments.
Audience reaction and box‑office buzz
Despite opening fifth at the North American box office, “Wicker” has already achieved something rare: it has unlocked new, tantalizing, and admittedly ridiculous possibilities for the 4DX format. The film’s success has sparked speculation about future releases—could “Fifty Shades of Grey” or “Basic Instinct” be re‑imagined in motion seats? Might Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” receive a 4DX makeover? The buzz suggests that studios are beginning to see erotic or romance titles not just as potential 4DX candidates, but as untapped narrative vehicles for sensory immersion.
Black Bear’s gamble appears to have paid off. The distributor’s first US theatrical release after the flop of “Christy” has turned a modest indie romance into a cultural moment, proving that audience appetite for experiential cinema extends far beyond traditional action fare.
Why it Matters
The fusion of “Wicker” with 4DX signals a broader shift in how cinemas conceive of immersive storytelling. By proving that a low‑budget folk‑horror romance can generate as much excitement as a blockbuster thriller, the film challenges the industry’s assumptions about which genres benefit from motion‑seat technology. This development could open doors for more diverse content—romantic dramas, erotic thrillers, and even arthouse projects—to be re‑imagined for the 4DX audience, ultimately enriching the cinematic landscape and offering viewers fresh ways to engage with stories that are as emotionally resonant as they are physically thrilling.
