[8] Initial plans for the theatre were drafted in 1994 as part of the renovation of the Melbourne Museum.

[9] Final plans were announced in 1996,[10] with construction scheduled to begin in May of that year.

[13] During construction, more delays were encountered[14] due to contaminated soil and water seepage.

[25] With the release of Oppenheimer in 2023, IMAX Melbourne was one of only 30 cinemas in the world, and the only location in the Southern Hemisphere able to project the film on 1570.

[b] The cinema is located eight storeys beneath the Melbourne Museum, and is the largest IMAX theatre in the Southern Hemisphere[1][2] and the second largest in the world[3] by screen size, at 32 m × 23 m (105 ft × 75 ft).