Christopher Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ Sells Out Theaters a Year Before Release
Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s new film, The Odyssey, went on sale a whole year before its release, and they sold out almost instantly. Nolan is known as one of the biggest directors in the industry. His hits like The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar have made his name a guaranteed draw at the box office.
He’s famous for sticking to his vision while still bringing in big money. Even Oppenheimer, a three-hour R-rated film mostly about conversations and shot partly in black and white, had a full IMAX run and made nearly a billion dollars, winning big at the Oscars.
Because of that huge success, Nolan got the green light to make The Odyssey, an adaptation of the classic story. It’s not clear yet if the film will be rated PG-13 or R, but it’s sure to bring in crowds. The movie stars a strong cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, and Zendaya. Nolan is focusing on filming as much of the epic as possible in-camera rather than relying on special effects.
The first teaser trailer for The Odyssey showed up in theaters earlier this month but hasn’t been officially released online. That short preview got fans excited enough that Universal decided to do something pretty unusual.
Tickets for 70MM IMAX screenings went on sale at midnight Eastern time on July 17, 2025, exactly one year before the movie’s 2026 release. These tickets disappeared fast. For example, the Lincoln Square AMC in New York sold out in less than five minutes after tickets went live. Some other theaters still have seats, but not many.
Get tickets now to experience the first IMAX 70mm screenings of #TheOdysseyMovie – A film by Christopher Nolan. In theaters 7 17 26. https://t.co/B6z1mqBRA2 pic.twitter.com/O641unm25o
— IMAX (@IMAX) July 17, 2025
Only about 30 theaters in North America will show The Odyssey in 70MM IMAX, which is Nolan’s preferred format. This film is also the first ever to be shot completely with IMAX cameras. Watching it in this format will be the best way to experience the movie, if you can get a ticket.
Right now, each theater has just four showings scheduled, one for each day of the opening weekend. It’s likely that more 70MM IMAX screenings will be added closer to the release once theaters know exactly how long the movie is.
Filming isn’t finished yet, so the runtime is still unknown. AMC is currently listing the film at about 2 hours and 40 minutes, but that could change. Nolan’s previous films often run close to three hours, but it probably won’t be longer than that since IMAX film reels can’t hold more than three hours.
The Odyssey is set to hit theaters on July 17, 2026.
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