The Odyssey breaks records as fans pay scalped prices, brave odd hours
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey set a box office record Thursday night with seventeen point six million dollars in previews, making it the best live-action pre-sales of twenty twenty-six. The first film shot entirely on IMAX cameras opened Friday across theaters worldwide. However, only forty-one theaters globally can show it in true seventy millimeter format, sparking intense demand and secondary market pricing. Tickets originally priced at thirty-three dollars are being resold for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Some fans are booking three a.m. showings or traveling across state lines to access seventy millimeter screenings. IMAX explains that no new seventy millimeter film projectors have been manufactured in fifty years, making retrofitting existing equipment the only option. The scarcity has sparked debate about accessibility and elitism in cinema, with supporters praising the technical achievement and critics questioning whether filmmaking only for the few serves art or the public.
Key facts
- Only 41 theaters worldwide can show The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm film — 25 in the United States, 9 in Canada, 3 in the UK, and one each in Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, and France
- IMAX 70mm tickets originally priced at $25-33 are being resold for $400-1000 or more, with some multi-ticket packages listed at $7,000-12,000
- The film earned $17.6 million in Thursday night previews, the best 2026 result for a live-action title
- Christopher Nolan shot the entire film with IMAX cameras — the first feature ever to use only IMAX film cameras throughout
- No new IMAX 70mm film projectors have been manufactured in approximately 50 years; expansion requires retrofitting older equipment
- Some fans are taking 3 a.m. showings, flying across state lines, or delaying major life decisions to see the film in its intended format
- IMAX ticketing on sale a year early sold out within hours and caused website crashes and multi-hour queue waits
How different outlets framed it
Left-leaning coverage: Left-leaning outlets and critics emphasize concerns about accessibility and elitism, framing the extreme ticket scarcity and high resale prices as exclusionary and potentially anti-art. They highlight that regular audiences cannot access Nolan's intended vision, creating a two-tier cinema experience where ordinary moviegoers see a different version. Some note this raises broader questions about whether premium filmmaking should be reserved for the wealthy.
Right-leaning coverage: Right-leaning outlets are less prominent in the search results on this specific story. Available conservative commentary focuses on market forces and supply-demand economics, with some noting that the film's marketing strategy was designed to create exclusivity and event-status, which is a legitimate business approach.
Limits of this briefing
This story centers mainly on the theater-access and pricing dynamics rather than political ideology, so traditional left-right political framing is limited. Conservative commentary on this specific film and ticket issue is sparse in available sources; existing criticism focuses more on casting and cultural representation rather than the IMAX scarcity angle. The debate about art accessibility and elitism does reflect broader value differences, but the story is primarily an entertainment/consumer issue.
Sources
- Washington Post: To see 'The Odyssey' on Imax, fans pay premiums and brave 3 a.m. showings Centre
- Variety: Christopher Nolan Fans Will Stop at Nothing to See 'The Odyssey' in Imax 70mm Centre
- Y.M. Cinema: Would You Pay $1,000 to See The Odyssey in IMAX 70mm? Left
- Axios: The Odyssey in IMAX: Why most fans can't see Nolan's actual version Centre
- Forbes: Which Cinema Format Is Best For Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'? Centre