Lumens quantify total light: consumer projectors emit 2,000 to 3,500, installation machines 10,000 and up, large-venue units past 30,000. ANSI lumens name the standardized measurement; marketing lumens name the other kind, best ignored.
What matters is lumens per square meter after the image spreads: a bright small picture becomes a dim large one, and any ambient light subtracts contrast directly. Club haze and moving heads are projection’s natural predators, which is why serious stages moved to LED walls for primary surfaces.
Projection still wins on cost per square meter and on mapping unusual surfaces; it just needs darkness budgeted for it like any other fixture.