Gifts for Movie Lovers

The gift that turns a living room into a cinema without a renovation. Triple-laser UST at 3,000 lumens, 80 to 150 inch image from a few inches off the wall, Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced, and Google TV built in. It replaces a 65 inch TV with something twice as wide. Read our PX3-PRO review, and pair it with the CLR3 screen below.

The best picture per dollar for someone who watches in a normal room. Self-lit OLED means true black in dark scenes, Filmmaker Mode disables motion smoothing automatically, and Dolby Vision covers nearly every streaming film. 65 inches suits 8 to 9 feet of seating. Our C4 review has the details.

An 11.1.4 channel system with wireless rear speakers and a subwoofer included, so the recipient gets true surround and height channels with no receiver and no wire runs. SpaceFit room calibration and HDMI 2.1 passthrough. It replaces TV speakers or a 2.1 bar with the closest thing to a real theater layout that does not require installation.

Top-grain leather power recliner with power headrest, lighted cupholders, USB charging, and in-arm storage. The gift for someone whose room is done and whose sofa is not. Match a row using our seating rows calculator. See more in our seating guide.

If they own or are getting a UST projector, this is the screen that makes it work in daylight. Ceiling-light-rejecting material at 1.0 gain in a 123 inch fixed frame. Read our review for why standard screens fail with UST.

For the film collector, streaming is a compromise. A 4K disc runs at 80 to 100 Mbps versus 15 to 25 for streaming, and this player handles Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and has an HDR Optimizer tuned for projectors. It replaces the aging disc player or the streaming-only habit. First in our 4K Blu-ray player guide.

The entry 4K disc player with Dolby Vision, HDR10, and SACD playback, bundled with an HDMI cable. It does what the Panasonic does at half the price, without the projector-specific HDR tuning or analog outputs. The right pick for someone starting a disc collection.

Ambient lighting that follows the film. The 8K sync box passes 4K/120 and Dolby Vision through and drives Hue gradient strips and lamps in real time. It replaces static bias lighting with something that makes the room feel part of the picture. Requires a Hue Bridge and Hue lights.

An 8 oz kettle popcorn machine with a warming deck, the kind of thing a movie lover looks at in a theater lobby and wants. It replaces microwave bags for movie nights with a crowd, and with Flavacol it tastes exactly like the cinema.

Six cuts of three films, remastered in 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos. The extended editions alone run over eleven hours. This is the disc set that makes a projector owner cancel plans.

The streamer with Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Atmos passthrough, Wi-Fi 6, and a rechargeable backlit voice remote with a finder. It replaces the slow built-in smart TV apps and supports every major service. Compare in our streaming device guide.

A camera-based backlight for 55 to 65 inch TVs that matches the strip color to the edges of the picture. Cheaper than the Hue system, no HDMI passthrough needed, and effective at making a TV feel larger in a dark room.

The 6 quart stovetop popper with a stirring crank that has been made the same way for decades. Three minutes to a full batch, no burnt kernels. The gift for someone who says microwave popcorn is not popcorn.

A 4K restoration of the film most often cited as the best ever made, in Criterion packaging with the commentary tracks. The Criterion label is the gift that signals you know what a movie lover collects.

A dimmable LED sign for the media room wall. USB powered, remote included. It is decor, but it is the decor a movie lover would buy for themselves.

A 4K UHD disc with a 5.1 mix that punishes subwoofers and a Dolby Vision transfer that rewards OLEDs and projectors. Under $20.

A 32 oz shaker of the butter-salt blend theaters use. It goes on stovetop popcorn after popping. Small and useful.

The fine-grain seasoning salt that goes in the kettle with the oil before popping, and the reason theater popcorn tastes different from home popcorn. One 35 oz carton lasts a year.

A Blu-ray of one of the most demanding surround mixes of recent years. Ten dollars, and the sandworm scene is the demo that sells subwoofers.