Limited U.S. Theaters Offer Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' in 70mm IMAX
Only about 25 cinemas across the United States can present Christopher Nolan's new film 'The Odyssey' in the director-preferred 70mm IMAX format, and tickets are expected to be scarce.
Christopher Nolan's latest film, "The Odyssey," will be shown in 70mm IMAX at roughly 25 locations in the United States, a format the director has promoted as the optimal way to experience the movie’s visuals. The screenings begin on July 17, but demand is high and tickets have been selling out well in advance, with some venues reporting full bookings for early-morning showings.
The 70mm IMAX format uses film stock twice the width of standard 35mm, delivering higher resolution and a larger image area. For "The Odyssey," Nolan employed IMAX cameras for the entire production—a first for a narrative feature—by housing the noisy equipment in a sound-reducing "blimp" to capture both action and dialogue.
The theaters equipped for 70mm IMAX include venues such as Harkins Arizona Mills in Tempe, Regal Hacienda Crossings in Dublin, TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, AMC Lincoln Square in New York, and several others across states like Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. A full list is available from IMAX.
Audiences unable to secure a 70mm seat can still view the film in standard IMAX, non-IMAX 70mm film, or Dolby Cinema. While standard IMAX offers a larger screen and expanded image, Dolby Cinema provides high contrast and brightness. > "The really fun thing with Dolby Vision is you're looking at a very, very high contrast ratio: incredible blacks, very, very high peak whites, peak brightnesses," Nolan told Letterboxd, citing a nighttime storm sequence as an example.
The movie’s official website includes a comparison chart showing how image quality varies across these premium formats.