The 100 Best Dolby Atmos Demo Scenes

Green firework starts the race: cacophony of roaring engines, car crashes and explosions; barricades, train, truck and wrecking balls produce surround and height effects; T-Rex stomps and roars in the top layer with vigorous LF; King Kong leaps from building to building.

Mixed by Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom

Hubble Space Telescope hardware upgrade scene: deafening silence of space against dialogue lines with Houston; debris cloud warning, Steven Price's score builds tension, then debris strikes and voices swirl chaotically from speaker to speaker.

Mixed by Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Chris Benstead

Voices, music and engine rumblings open the credits; Mad Max is chased, the camera stays still as he disappears, silence falls, then a car launches overhead as ghosts of his past whisper from the sides and heights.

Mixed by Gregg Rudloff, Chris Jenkins

Engine roars in shadow, deep LF grumble, high-speed chase: bumps, crashes, screeching tires, passing traffic and horns through the surrounds with some height activity; inside the Penguin's car as it rolls, swirling glass-shattering effects, finishing on Giacchino's Batman theme.

Mixed by Andy Nelson

Evelyn steps on a nail and drops a picture frame which shatters with piano-chord LF impact; she switches on the exterior red emergency lights as the monster's breathing/steps move from top-left to top-right height channels, then descend through the stairs to front-left/side/rear surround. Heavy bass throughout.

Mixed by Brandon Proctor, Noyan Cosarer

Bomber aircraft fly overhead with loud engine drone in heights; inside the aircraft, wind, turbulence, fuselage creaks, intense flak object-based explosions around the room, fighter planes whizzing with spatial accuracy and heavy gunfire booming through the subwoofer.

Mixed by Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño

Paul and his father fly the ornithopter to oversee the spice harvest, with beating wings and ambient hum, then a dive down to assist. Paul steps onto the sand, granular dust running through his fingers, as the sandworm emerges and they make a mad dash back to the craft.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

Atmos remix of the Normandy beach landing, with every gunshot precisely placed and the full chaos of the assault wrapping around the room. One of cinema's most relentless sound sequences.

Mixed by Gary Summers, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson

Climactic canyon trench run: low bass from jet engines, heights and surrounds as the jets curve through the canyon, bombs on the bunker, then a missile evade with flares; the flare-versus-missile impacts are a standout effect.

Mixed by Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor

Longer than a typical demo clip but covers everything Atmos does well: gunshots, screeching tires, driving action; audio is present from the sides, mimicking what Baby hears when his headphones drown out his tinnitus.

Mixed by Tim Cavagin, Julian Slater

Convoy races into a massive sand-and-lightning cyclone that whistles and roars around the room; a vehicle gets swept into a vortex, spins around the room and is thrown over the listener's head into the back wall. Scene ends as Max is thrown from his vehicle and blacks out.

Mixed by Gregg Rudloff, Chris Jenkins

Heights engage from the very start. The score wraps around the listener and ties into the spacecraft flight, fully immersing you in the sci-fi world.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

Cruise hangs from the swing-load under the H125 helicopter, thunderous blade slap through the heights; Cavill's machine gun blasts from the LF as bullets whip past in the surrounds; a dramatic end with warning alarms and both helicopters coming down.

Mixed by Noyan Cosarer, Gilbert Lake, Mike Prestwood Smith

Mach 10 test flight: subtle tension build during prep (treadmill, gear), then jet engines fire with a rumble, roof of the shack blows off, quiet/muted in-cockpit audio, climax with the faint distant explosion.

Mixed by Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor

Chapter 8/9 (Extras: Complete Live Aid performance). Freddie sits at the piano for the second half of 'We Are The Champions'; the crowd joins louder with each verse until a cathartic wave rolls through stadium and cinema alike.

Mixed by Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin

Burning town: collapsing structures, distant footsteps and ricochets land in their own spaces; fire crackles overhead with walls closing in.

Mixed by Scott Millan, Mark Taylor

When they first go into no-man's-land: five minutes of very quiet build-up while the soldiers try to stay silent, then planes slowly get louder and louder and fly right overhead.

Mixed by Scott Millan, Mark Taylor

The film's opening seconds: planes flying and fighting overhead, helicopters swirling, PA announcements and master-caution alarms. The overhead flyover that Atmos owners love.

Mixed by Tom Myers

The lobby shootout from the 4K Atmos remaster: Trinity's wall-run flip with great height movement, the elevator explosion with slow-motion fire, and sprinklers bursting on over the Agents.

Mixed by Gregg Rudloff, David E. Campbell, John T. Reitz

Pearl Harbor attack: vintage fighter planes overhead and through the surrounds, bombs falling on ships and igniting fires with deep rumble, gunshot ricochets, and exceptionally heavy bass throughout.

Mixed by Tom Marks, Greg P. Russell, Peter Bawiec

Chapters 12-13: the end-of-movie battle, with explosions and gunfire shifting overhead and whipping around the room and bullets whizzing past with precise placement. Among the best Atmos audio of 2024.

Mixed by Howard Bargroff, Mark Timms, Adam Scrivener

Kong's first appearance, when he hits the helicopter and the back rotor starts spinning around all the speakers.

Mixed by Tom Myers

Around the 50-min mark: eruption of liquid mud triggers a blowout with splattering sounds through every speaker, then ignition causes a massive explosion with ricocheting rivets, groaning girders and ferocious fires saturating the soundscape.

Mixed by Dror Mohar, Mike Prestwood Smith

Famous one-shot sprint across the battlefield: grenades explode around the listener, bullets whistle overhead, soldiers shout from different directions.

Mixed by Scott Millan, Mark Taylor

End battle set to 80s music; just before it, a rocket shoots up and blows up the force field, crackle and explosion directly overhead. Less famous than the race but a strong demo moment.

Mixed by Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom

The podrace sequence, with podracer engines given particularly careful attention in the sound mix.

Mixed by Tom Johnson, Shawn Murphy, Gary Rydstrom

Rey, Finn and BB-8 run toward the Millennium Falcon with TIE fighters flying directly overhead and precisely localized, then it continues inside the Falcon with TIE fighters all around plus deep bass.

Mixed by Andy Nelson, Chris Scarabosio

Dramatic Zimmer/Wallfisch score pulsates as cars travel through the soundscape; K blasts them from the air, they crash into the water; waves crash over the vehicle and into the overheads as it submerges and the fight ensues.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

Toward the end of the film, the rescue of children from the sea is impressive both technically and sonically, benefiting strongly from Atmos's 3D character.

Mixed by Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan, Andrew Caller

Convoy of cars and trucks tearing across the desert: solid bass for engines, beating drums and the flame-thrower guitar through surrounds and heights, war boys' cheers and chants; vehicles collide with the buzzards with fire/explosions and circular-saw razor sounds.

Mixed by Gregg Rudloff, Chris Jenkins

Mysterio traps Spider-Man in a virtual world: Mysterio's voice travels all around, Spider-Man punches columns thinking they're Mysterio with structural collapse sounds, voices shift based on POV.

Mixed by Kevin O'Connell, Tony Lamberti

Thor suits up just before the big battle. Lightning cracks as he summons his weapons, with a full surround effect.

Mixed by Juan Peralta, Tom Johnson

K approaches the abandoned casino: distant echoes and environmental hums layer over a sense of a forgotten city; soft whine of old holograms drifts through the room, tiny mechanical sounds ping from above.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

Rockets flying all around makes you feel like you're right in the middle of everything.

Mixed by Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor

Sammy summons spirits past, present and future; ethereal vocals soar and the camera swoops around dancing souls in the juke joint.

Mixed by Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor

The naval bombardment that opens the ridge assault, with destroyer guns pounding the Japanese positions before the infantry attack.

Mixed by Kevin O'Connell, Robert Mackenzie, Andy Wright

First encounter between HMS Surprise and Acheron: 18-pounders boom from distant fog, rounds splinter and shatter the Surprise's deck.

Mixed by Doug Hemphill, Paul Massey

K and Joi fly through a storm: rain on wipers, distant thunder, bullets streaking the room, then near-silence as lightning cuts the power.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

From the 32:25 mark: quiet hangar chat snaps into a siren-blaring time-jump portal that fills the ceiling with roaring audio.

Mixed by Beau Borders

The storm hits with relentless use of the surrounds and overheads; individual ice and wind elements swirl distinctly around and above for a chilling sense of being trapped on the mountain.

Mixed by Niv Adiri

A plane flies directly overhead during the car show: a clean, striking workout for the height channels.

Mixed by Paul Massey, David Giammarco

T. rex breaks out of its cage in the rain.

Mixed by Gary Summers, Shawn Murphy, Gary Rydstrom

Americans bomb Japanese ships; retaliatory big-gun thumps and whizzing bullets surround the cockpit from every angle.

Mixed by Tom Marks, Greg P. Russell, Peter Bawiec

Swarming drones whizz overhead while the President and an agent plunge underwater to evade a drone bomb. The surrounds simulate the pressure and the explosion above is precisely placed.

Mixed by Richard Pryke, Adam Scrivener

Rose plays piano downstairs while Phil mockingly plays banjo from the rear ceiling, his roaming spurs filling the overheads before his boots shock her.

The film's long opening car chase: a frenetic, gunfire-filled pursuit through the streets of Florence.

Two contrasting sonic worlds: ethereal springy reverb of the great before vs the tactile pile-driver-and-jazz cacophony of autumnal New York.

Mixed by Ren Klyce, David Parker

Opening: Kirk and McCoy chased through the forest by natives (sides for trees, spears in sides/surrounds), then Spock dropped into an erupting volcano, then USS Enterprise rises out of the water.

Mixed by Andy Nelson

Jack-Jack first enters another dimension: a giggling baby crawls around the ceiling from speaker to speaker, very specific sound placement that isn't lost in the chaos.

Mixed by Michael Semanick, Nathan Nance

Mine shaft starts collapsing on the two main characters after the big explosion the rat caused by running through the trip wire.

Mixed by Scott Millan, Mark Taylor

Stone enters the ISS: sub channel beats a heartbeat pulse, breathing and small debris sounds inside the cluttered cabin; alarms blare through overhead speakers when fire breaks out until she hits her head and all audio ceases.

Mixed by Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Chris Benstead

The bubbleship pursuit, with pronounced height sounds: rain, lightning, water and flight through rugged terrain.

Mixed by Juan Peralta, Gary Rizzo

A Le Mans race moment. Engine roars and explosions build a thumping soundtrack that makes you feel like you're driving the race yourself.

Mixed by Paul Massey, David Giammarco

Shifts from subtle ambient track sounds (planes, distant mechanics) to the violent mechanical roar of the GT40, balancing Ford II's terrified screams against high-SPL engine noise.

Mixed by Paul Massey, David Giammarco

From the get-go: nervous soldiers on a plane rattle through the air; right in the middle of every bullet and explosion.

Axe strikes ring out across the soundstage, each impact landing distinctly in the front and rear surround channels.

Trees burn in the field, the crackle of fire placed convincingly overhead in the height channels.

Mixed by Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan, Andrew Caller

Pouring rain through heights/surrounds, looming UFO presence as the area loses power; eerie screams move from rear surrounds to heights as the UFO engulfs the soundstage; debris descends on the house, then outside with Daniel Kaluuya in the car for rain, thunder and haunting rumbles.

Mixed by Oleg Kulchytskyi, Johnnie Burn

Around 30 min: tanks drive off the road and onto the battlefield with low-end rumble and chatter in surrounds; eruption of machine-gun fire with metallic ricochet clanging, machine gunner blasts from heights, main tank gun booms, enemy anti-tank rounds whistle, all under Steven Price's score.

Mixed by Marc Fishman

Around the 3-minute mark, set to Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love': cars scream past through surrounds, radio chatter crackles, fireworks explode overhead in the height channels.

Mixed by Gary Rizzo, Juan Peralta

Spartans shield themselves from arrows from above: arrows whistle through the air and land in side/rear surrounds, then pound on shields activating overhead channels.

Mixed by Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño

Multiple Pandora-underwater scenes from ~1h onward: whale songs float through the room, air bubbles rise audibly, ocean currents envelop the listener.

Mixed by Gary Summers, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges

A silent leadup to the assassination shot, then a jarring gunshot impact kicks off the action through a techno-thumping nightclub and into the catacombs chase, with multiple gun signatures (machine guns, shotguns) all around.

Mixed by Martyn Zub, Andy Koyama

The villain's giant robot at the end: the cloning villain laughs and screams while bouncing all around the room, then a huge explosion when the robot falls. Strong room-bouncing localization plus heavy bass.

Mixed by Anna Behlmer

The attack on the compound, building to a bus blown up with heavy ordnance; bullets fly right past the head.

Mixed by Gary Summers, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush

An excellent all-around sound bubble as Doc Ock shows off his arms and fires up the fusion reactor, the lasers firing with a percussive thump.

Mixed by Kevin O'Connell, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell

Vocals and dynamics. Not a bass demo but a showcase for natural vocal reproduction on a well-balanced system.

Mixed by Tom Ozanich, Dean A. Zupancic, Jason Ruder

A race with roaring engines, peeling tires and cornering detail; when cars hit the rumble strips beside the track you hear the tire tone shift, plus dirt and gravel flying across the soundfield.

Mixed by Kevin O'Connell, Beau Borders

The light-cycle arena battle: crisp, geometric sound design set to Daft Punk's score, with a very powerful, room-shaking low end.

Mixed by Gary Rizzo, Christopher Boyes

Rodan chasing the fighter jets and meeting Monster Zero.

Mixed by Tim LeBlanc, Tom Ozanich

The opening battle, when a bomb blows up next to a running soldier and you hear the rubble rain down above you.

Mixed by Lars Ginzel, Stefan Korte

Motorcycles weave with clean left-to-right motion; police sirens ricochet between buildings with metallic sharpness; engines rev and shift directions with pinpoint accuracy.

Mixed by Noyan Cosarer, Gilbert Lake, Mike Prestwood Smith

The Battle of Helm's Deep, the night siege of the fortress, with the remastered mix driving rain, Uruk-hai roars and the wall breach through every channel.

Mixed by Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Christopher Boyes

The protagonists are almost captured by Klingons just before Khan shows up; top-tier sound and image.

Mixed by Andy Nelson

Chapter 14/22. Officer K investigates a beehive, a quiet scene save for one dramatic bass note. The immersive Atmos mix is famous for making demo audiences swat at the air around them.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

The goblin-tunnel chase, with thunderous bass and strong height effects as the rickety walkways collapse.

Mixed by Michael Semanick, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges

From the Universal Studios logo onward, the opening builds an enveloping, immersive Atmos atmosphere.

Mixed by Will Files

Aircraft flight to Antarctica (engine rumble through the heights and surrounds), Ospreys deploy with thunderous blade slap, facility echo, firefight, ice-wall bomb detonation, Ghidorah awakens with roars and lightning blasts, then Godzilla shows up for a battle with an aircraft missile barrage.

Mixed by Tim LeBlanc, Tom Ozanich

The Hong Kong battle: Gipsy Danger versus the kaiju Otachi, the fight tearing through the city with debris and impacts tracking across the surround and height channels.

Mixed by Gregg Rudloff, John T. Reitz, Tim LeBlanc

The scene with the trash pandas (raccoons) on the roof.

Mixed by Brandon Proctor, Noyan Cosarer

Escape from Saw's hideout, where Atmos makes it feel like the entire cave is crumbling around the listener.

Mixed by David Parker, Chris Scarabosio

Caverns, slaughtered dwarves, orcs surrounding the Fellowship, arrows flying, the cave-troll fight, then the Balrog stomping in. A longtime demo favourite that works the sides, surrounds and subwoofer.

Mixed by Christopher Boyes, Gethin Creagh, Michael Semanick

The opening Buzz Lightyear sequence (later revealed to be a video game): flying through space, a planet opening up, light tunnels, and a fight with Emperor Zurg and his Death Star-like power orb. Fun for the sides, surrounds and subwoofer.

Mixed by Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers

Damon and Affleck talk to a girl in the room while the crew demolishes a wall one floor up; thuds land in the top channel.

Glitch effects and dimensional rips bounce around in a kaleidoscope of motion; punches, web swings and energy bursts track across height channels.

Mixed by Michael Semanick, Tony Lamberti

Lead-up begins around the 59-minute mark with a child's singing only Poirot can hear; bassy thumps, disembodied voices, wild woodwinds and a raging storm.

Mixed by Andy Nelson, Mark Taylor

Sunny summer street of children and chatter morphs into the swirling low-toned chaos of a riot; rocks fly overhead as a bin lid becomes a shield.

Mixed by Niv Adiri, Simon Chase

A bomb hits the high-ceilinged Vatican mid-vote; tense strings cut out, debris falls and the building's collapse fills the room.

Mixed by Ben Baird

Harkonnen ambush: thrumming ornithopters and a missile barrage give way to silent sand cloud, then Fremen warriors and room-filling chanting.

Mixed by Ron Bartlett, Dale Bartlett, Doug Hemphill

Evelyn's final showdown in the doughnut-shaped abyss: whooshing and swirling sweep around as dialogue threads through the chaos.

Mixed by Ian Chase, Alexandra Fehrman, Brent Kiser

Sailors find a wounded Frankenstein on the tundra; sled dogs, fire crackle, whistling wind, then the Creature's deep growl and a bone-cracking rampage from all angles.

Mixed by Christian T. Cooke, Brad Zoern

Climactic Le Mans race fills the room with crowd noise, a stunt jet fly-by and revving engines; strong dynamics and bass weight.

Mixed by Kevin O'Connell, Beau Borders

Cave chapter with underwater burbling effects and a brief gunfight where bullets whizz around and behind the listening position.

Mixed by Paul Massey, Juan Peralta, David Giammarco

Latter third builds into sustained bedlam with every sound placed slightly elevated and tremendous low-end effects to test the subwoofer.

Mixed by Craig Henighan, Skip Lievsay, Noyan Cosarer

Ambush at Vesper's tomb leaves Bond deafened; chase ends with rain of bullets on the Aston Martin panned across interior and exterior, interwoven with churchbells.

Mixed by Paul Massey, Mark Taylor

Around the 72-minute mark: car chase to Pat Benatar's 'Heartbreaker' becomes an R-rated Home Alone in a warehouse, with flying bullets, shrapnel and explosions.

Mixed by Bill Meadows, Dionysius Vlachos, Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño

Quiet desert ambience, gravel crunch and uneasy snorts build to a bassy jump scare; voices echo across the landscape and the horse can no longer be seen.

Mixed by Oleg Kulchytskyi, Johnnie Burn

A pack of Count Orlok's wolves attacks; carriage rumble and snarling rise as the danger closes in.

Mixed by David Giammarco

Miles flees Miguel O'Hara across the frame; energetic score and pinpoint placement track him vertically and around the soundfield.

Mixed by Juan Peralta, Michael Semanick

Mall battle against possessed electronics: soda-can missiles, whizzing drones, raining Furbies and a Godzilla-Furby crescendo using zany height effects.

Mixed by Michael Semanick