Tickets for The Odyssey in 70MM IMAX are already fetching hundreds of dollars on the resale market.
Sales opened yesterday for Christopher Nolan’s latest epic, and the experience quickly turned chaotic. Ticketing platforms buckled under the crush of demand, leaving fans stuck in endless virtual queues or booted entirely by crashes. Many walked away empty-handed and frustrated. The situation grew more irritating when scalpers secured chunks of inventory and flipped them for profit. Over on eBay, several completed sales confirm buyers actually paid inflated prices. One sold listing brought in $700 for a set of three tickets to a 70MM IMAX showing at New York’s Lincoln Square theater, widely considered among the finest IMAX venues in the country. Other listings remain unsold with asking prices in the thousands, though those figures will probably come down as the premiere date approaches.
You may be asking yourself, “Why scalp tickets for a movie? Everyone should eventually have a chance to see it in theaters, right?” Yes and no. While there will likely be plenty of showtimes for The Odyssey throughout the summer, the showtimes for 70MM IMAX showings are much more limited.
70MM IMAX is the way Christopher Nolan intended the movie to be seen, especially since The Odyssey is the first film in history to ever be shot entirely on IMAX. The format allows for a much taller image, allowing for an increased level of immersion while also benefiting from higher resolution and higher fidelity. Sadly, there are only 39 theaters showing the film in this format worldwide and 24 of them are in the United States.
Most multiplexes can support just one screen with 70MM IMAX capability. The physical screen dimensions and projector expenses make multiple installations impractical within a single location. That constraint limits daily screenings to a small handful, since the same auditorium cannot simultaneously host different films. With a runtime pushing nearly three hours, venues can squeeze in only four or five showings per day in this premium format. Anyone flexible about presentation can opt for standard digital or other formats, which will offer far wider availability and simpler ticket acquisition. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey runtime confirmed as one of his longest adds another layer of logistical complexity for theaters scheduling the limited 70MM IMAX screenings.
The Odyssey ranks among the summer’s most eagerly awaited releases. It marks Nolan’s first project following Oppenheimer, which dominated both the Oscars and the global box office. While the director has historically enjoyed broad creative control, Universal reportedly granted him the green light to craft the costliest R-rated production ever mounted. Industry chatter places the budget around $250 million, a figure cited by Deadline in their coverage of the production. Early indicators suggest recouping that investment poses little challenge.
Some observers worried that brewing controversies might ding the movie’s commercial prospects, specifically grumbling about “historical inaccuracies” involving dialogue and armor design. Yet the melting-down ticketing infrastructure and the willingness of moviegoers to pay scalper rates for opening-weekend seats both signal that demand remains robust. Fans can also read about Lupita Nyong’o hitting back at critics of her casting as Helen of Troy in The Odyssey or learn how Christopher Nolan reveals a dual-role casting twist in The Odyssey.
The Odyssey will release in theaters on July 17, 2026.
