In this article, we extensively reviewed film studies from the perspectives of the “projection science” as well as neuroscience, to consider what kind of information in the viewer is projected onto the characters and objects in the fictional world on the screen. The general art, such as films, has not been a major topic in the scientific research, but only recently has grown to form a new academic branch under a new scientific term of “neurocinematics”, which is made up of the words “neuroscience” and “cinematics”. We first outlines what kind of cognitive abilities, such as empathy and absorption, are involved in projection during film viewing. Then, four potential research questions are introduced. The first question is related to what kind of cognitive strategy the viewer should take towards the “transgressive characters”. The second question is about the role of the autobiographical self, which would be projected onto the characters, in appreciating the depth of the fictional world that is not directly presented in the film. The third question is about how it is possible to scientifically address the cognitive effects of “defamiliarization”, which prevents viewers from being sympathetic or absorbed. The fourth question is about the specific problem of films caused by cameras. We further reviewed several studies that have examined viewers’ emotional responses to films such as sadness and crying, laughter and humor, and unpleasantness and fear evoked by violence, to consider such kinds of vicarious emotions felt in cinematic projections in various film genres. Finally, we discuss that there are many interesting research topics in the cognitive science of film and that neurocinematics can be an effective research methodology to further investigating and understanding the role of projection in film viewing.