3 Minutes
One IMAX screen. 28,000 tickets in 24 hours. That alone sounds like a movie scene—and it played out at BFI IMAX in London when Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey went on sale.
The numbers read like a box-office earthquake: the single auditorium pulled in £750,000 in one day, setting a new one-day record for that venue. To put it in perspective, Dune: Part Two once held the single-day crown at £366,000, and Nolan's own Oppenheimer reached about £254,000 in its first 24 hours there. Audience appetite has clearly moved up a gear.
Stateside, the buzz translated into its own fever. AMC reports say The Odyssey broke the chain's record for first-day PLF (premium large format) ticket sales. Shoppers endured online queues lasting up to an hour; CEO Adam Aron issued an apology for the delays and reassured fans that millions of seats remain available. Still, the scramble revealed how many viewers treat a Nolan release like an event.
Universal took a bold step months ago, putting IMAX 70mm tickets on sale a year ahead of the premiere—and they vanished fast. Early reports peg those advance sales at roughly $1.5 million. The Odyssey is being promoted as the first feature shot entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras. That technical claim, paired with IMAX's theatrical draw, helps explain the frantic demand.
Then there are the names. Matt Damon plays Odysseus—his third turn in a Nolan film after Interstellar and Oppenheimer. The supporting cast reads like a who's-who: Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron all figure in the ensemble. Runtime is reported at 172 minutes, so plan accordingly.
What does this translate to for moviegoers? Bigger lines, sold-out premium screenings, and a summer release that already feels like a cultural moment. The Odyssey opens July 17, 2026—mark your calendars and decide now: will you chase the IMAX 70mm experience, or wait for the quieter screenings later?
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