A new group of tickets for Imax 70mm screenings of “The Odyssey” went on sale this week, and many of the new screenings sold out within hours.
There are no Imax 70mm tickets available in New York and Los Angeles until August 19th, reflecting the enthusiasm to see Christopher Nolan’s epic in premium large format. And in London, Imax 70mm screenings are sold out until September 10th, almost two months after the film’s release. Additional Imax 70mm screenings will be added to meet strong demand. But the question is how long “The Odyssey” can hold onto those coveted screens, which exist in only 25 theaters in the U.S. and 41 worldwide.
Upcoming Imax releases include sci-fi survival film End of Oak Street (starring Anne Hathaway), which will be released on August 14th, and Zack Creger’s Resident Evil, which will be released on September 18th. Each of these titles shot for Imax will be released in premium format, but that doesn’t mean Odyssey needs to vacate Imax screens entirely.
An Imax spokesperson told Variety that the company’s next Imax 70mm effort will be “Dune: Part 3.” That means there is no contractual obligation to give up those screens until the Denis Villeneuve film is released in December. That said, the spokesperson said it is highly unlikely that “The Odyssey” will be shown in Imax 70mm until that month, adding that it is likely to be shown in Imax 70mm many times through the end of the year.
A similar boom occurred in 2023 with Nolan’s last film, Oppenheimer. IMAX twice extended the film’s 70mm run in response to demand, but in the end, on September 1st, the exhibitor was forced to cede the screen to Denzel Washington’s “The Equalizer 3.” Oppenheimer returns in Imax 70mm in February 2024, ahead of the Oscars. Odyssey, another award hotshot, will no doubt follow a similar path, but the Imax 70mm runway is much longer than Oppenheimer.
Select screening tickets for “The Odyssey” first went on sale on July 17, one year before the film’s release. Still, demand for the blockbuster film adaptation of Homer’s epic poem has exceeded expectations. The film grossed $123.5 million domestically during its opening weekend, making it the third highest-grossing film of the year in the United States, and $263.8 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of Nolan’s career. Imax was over-indexed and its screens sold a record $51.8 million. It also helps that director Nolan is a major supporter of Imax, praising the format as the best way to watch his films. The Odyssey was the first film to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras.
Theaters have struggled to meet demand for Imax screens, adding 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. showings, for example. Fans are traveling across state lines to see the film in IMAX 70mm, and tickets are being resold by scalpers.
“The Odyssey” has received near-unanimous praise from critics, and Nolan has his sights set on another breakout year at the Academy Awards in 2024, following his stellar year with “Oppenheimer.” Universal Pictures released the R-rated “Odyssey,” which ran nearly three hours and cost a whopping $250 million to make.
