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Dan Gooding

By Dan Gooding

Associate News Editor

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Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has sparked a rush among moviegoers eager to experience the film in what many fans regard as its definitive format: IMAX 70 mm, but the United States is only home to a handful of movie theaters able to offer the screens.

The epic adaptation of Homer's ancient poem is the first feature shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, and demand for tickets at the limited number of theaters has been intense. Some locations were sold out weeks into the film's run, while IMAX has added early-morning and overnight screenings to meet demand.

The challenge for many moviegoers is simple: There are relatively few theaters capable of projecting an IMAX 70 mm print. Only about 25 U.S. theaters are equipped for "true" IMAX 70 mm presentations, while roughly 41 venues worldwide can screen the film in the format.

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"While it's inspiring and reassuring to see filmmakers and audiences craving an analogue theatrical experience, it would also be difficult to gauge if more 70 mm IMAX screens would be financially successful year round given how few films are shot in the format," Drew Morton, film history professor at Texas A&M University Texarkana, told Newsweek.

"Beyond playing Sinners or *The Odyssey—*the one or two native IMAX movies currently shot a year—what else would these auditoriums show year-round given the sheer physical footprint needed for a screen of that size that could draw in a large enough audience to offset the costs involved?"

List of IMAX Cinemas in US

The following theaters are among the U.S. venues showing The Odyssey in IMAX 70 mm:

Christopher Nolan attends Universal Pictures' "The Odyssey" premiere on July 11 in Mumbai, India.

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Why Should the Film Be Viewed in IMAX?

A major part of the marketing campaign surrounding The Odyssey has focused on the fact that it is the first feature film shot entirely using IMAX film cameras. Speakers involved with the production, including Nolan, have emphasized that the film was designed for large-format presentation.

The scarcity of IMAX 70 mm venues has become part of the story itself. Some moviegoers have traveled long distances to attend screenings, while demand has led to sold-out shows weeks in advance at some locations.

"We’re sold out in some theaters into the fifth week already," IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told Variety. "There’s certainly more demand. The problem is they haven’t made new IMAX film projectors in about 50 years. So we retrofit them, rebuild them and part of our strategy is to see how far we can take it. But certainly, demand-driven, I’d like to see more."

According to IMAX, many of the components needed for the projectors are difficult to source, and maintaining the systems requires specialized expertise that has become increasingly rare since the industry's transition to digital projection.

"This would seem to track with what occurred about a decade ago when Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight had a limited 70mm roadshow engagement in about 50 theaters nationwide," Morton said. "The roadshow not only required a lot of labor to retrofit many of the auditoriums to show analog film again, after most multiplexes and theaters pivoted to digital around the release of James Cameron’s Avatar and distribution largely became digital only, but also a lot of work to find old 70mm projectors, get them running, and maintain them throughout the short run of the film - which was not without its issues."

Newsweek reached out to IMAX for further comment via email Friday afternoon.

4DX Vs. IMAX: What's the Difference?

Both formats are designed to create a premium moviegoing experience, but they do so in very different ways.

IMAX focuses on image size, picture quality, aspect ratio and sound. In the case of The Odyssey, advocates of the format point to its presentation on large-format IMAX film, which allows audiences to see more image detail and a taller frame than standard theatrical presentations. Nolan has long championed IMAX photography and large-format film exhibition.

4DX, by contrast, incorporates moving seats and environmental effects such as wind, vibration and other sensory features. While some moviegoers enjoy the added immersion, purists often argue that IMAX more closely reflects the way filmmakers intended audiences to view a film.

What Is 'The Odyssey' About?

The Odyssey is based on Homer's ancient Greek epic poem chronicling the long journey home of Odysseus following the Trojan War. The story follows the Ithacan king as he encounters monsters, gods and other dangers while attempting to reunite with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.

Nolan's adaptation reimagines the classic tale as a large-scale cinematic epic, continuing the filmmaker's interest in ambitious storytelling projects following the success of Oppenheimer.

Left to right, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas speak during the premiere of "The Odyssey," presented by Universal Pictures, on July 14 in New York City.

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'The Odyssey' Cast Lineup

The film features a star-studded ensemble led by:

The production has attracted significant attention not only because of Nolan's involvement but also because of the scale of its cast and technical ambitions.

List of Christopher Nolan Movies

Nolan is among the most commercially successful directors working today. His filmography includes:

Interest in Nolan's latest release has also reignited discussions about the future of large-format film exhibition, with industry observers debating whether the success of Oppenheimer and The Odyssey could help preserve a format that many had assumed was fading into history.

IMAX executives, however, caution that expanding the number of IMAX 70 mm venues remains a complex challenge because of aging equipment and the specialized infrastructure required to support it.

"In addition to the issues with the older hardware, the proliferation of digital projectors and digital distribution had made the job of a film projectionist a relic of the past - so there isn’t a trained workforce to show these films anymore," Morton said.

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