FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2026
2026 MAX Madness bracket revealed
16 films compete for champ of the OMNIMAX® screen; film festival planned for championship weekend
CINCINNATI - MAX Madness is back at Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC), and this year is even better than last year. Official brackets for the 16-film tournament were released today to see who will be crowned Queen of the Domed Screen. Online and social media voting for the four-week tournament is live now and brackets will be updated every Tuesday until a champion is crowned on March 30.
You can print your own brackets or fill out a digital bracket online at cincymuseum.org/max-madness. Every person who fills out a bracket online will be entered to win free OMNIMAX® tickets. MAX Madness will culminate in a three-day mini film festival from March 27 to 29, during which all 16 MAX Madness films will be screened. CMC is offering multi-film discounts so you can see all your favorites. Purchase tickets to two or more films on the same day and save $2 off each ticket. 
In CMC’s Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, you don’t just watch a film, you experience it. From the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space, the OMNIMAX® Theater takes you beyond the screen, into the film itself as adventure unfolds around you. The five-story domed screen has dazzled over nine million viewers since it opened in 1990, screening over 100 films. Since its transition to digital in 2018, CMC has screened 28 films, including new releases and classics. Sixteen of those films made the MAX Madness bracket and though only one champion will be crowned, all 16 will be screened during the MAX Madness mini film festival March 27 to 29.
Matchups offer plenty of variety for fans. Secrets of the Sea and National Parks Adventure will once again hope to advance to the championship (Secrets of the Sea took home the crown last year) but four newcomers will be looking for their Cinderella story – The Blue Angels, Space: The New Frontier, Call of the Dolphins and Wild Rescue, the newest film in the bracket.
Animal lovers will fast-track their brackets with several films bringing them nose-to-nose with animals, from their own backyard to plains of Africa. Secrets of the Sea, Great Bear Rainforest, Wild Rescue, Call of the Dolphins, Backyard Wilderness, Serengeti: Journey to the Heart of Africa and Superpower Dogs form the largest single grouping of films and dazzle with their intimate cinematography of lions, dolphins and bears, oh my!
Nature enthusiasts who don’t find something to love in the animal-heavy films will quickly pencil in National Parks Adventure and Into America’s Wild for a strength-on-strength Final Four matchup featuring sweeping vistas of the country’s wild spaces.
Thrill seekers will find plenty of films to get their adrenaline pumping through multiple MAX Madness rounds. Volcanoes: Fires of Creation takes viewers to the edge of a volcano and the edge of their seats, while Ancient Caves offers an immersive experience into some of the world’s most remote caves. The Blue Angels takes you inside the cockpit for a breathtaking wingtip-to-wingtip thrill ride alongside the world’s most elite precision flying team.
Globetrotters will be drawn to the vibrant, pastel-colored and cigar smoke-soaked paradise of Cuba: Journey to the Heart of the Caribbean or Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs’ epic quest into the sands of Egypt.
Those looking beyond the stars will be counting on a Final Four matchup between classic film Hubble and newcomer Space: The New Frontier to see which shines brightest on the giant screen.
Whether you vote by dome screened memory or the merits of film posters and trailers, fill out your bracket to send your favorite film to the big dance on the big screen.
Voting opens Monday, March 2 with a 16-film slate of matchups. Future rounds of voting will open each Tuesday with the champion crowned on Monday, March 30. Refresh your memory by viewing the film trailers at cincymuseum.org/max-madness.
If you need an OMNIMAX® Theater refresher, enjoy a few screenings of Wild Rescue, Ohio: Wild at Heart or D-Day: Normandy 1944, all showing now.
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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized, award-winning institution housed in a National Historic Landmark. CMC is a vital community resource that sparks curiosity, inspiration, epiphany and dialogue. CMC was awarded the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2012, one of a select few museums in the nation to receive both honors. Organizations within CMC include the Cincinnati History Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, The Children’s Museum, Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, Cincinnati History Library and Archives and the Geier Collections and Research Center. Housed in historic Union Terminal – a National Historic Landmark restored in 2018 and recognized as the nation’s 45th most important building by the American Institute of Architects – CMC welcomes more than 1.8 million visits annually, making it one of the most visited museums in the country. For more information, visit cincymuseum.org.
