Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has been quietly building up anticipation ever since the film and its cast were officially announced. Universal and Imax's decision to release 70MM tickets for the high-budget film a year before its release has proven quite effective as the tickets were sold out in under 12 hours.
Moreover, New York City’s Lincoln Plaza was sold out within 15 mins, said reports. This is the first time in history that tickets for any film have gone live a year before its release.
The world’s second-largest exhibitor is running six of the 26 global IMAX locations that opted to screen Odyssey in 70MM. According to IMAX’s official site at the time of reporting, Regal locations that sold out included Irvine Spectrum, Mall of Georgia, and King of Prussia in Pennsylvania.
On Thursday, many social media users pointed out how tickets to The Odyssey sold out in less than three minutes of going live.
The Odyssey, which is based on Homer's epic poem, follows Odysseus as he undergoes a eventful voyage over 10 years, to get back to his home country of Ithaca. He meets several figures of myth like the cyclops Polyphemus, sirens, and Circe. Back home his wife Penelope waits for him as several suitors try to take over their home.
Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, portraying the lead role in his third time collaborating with Nolan, after Interstellar and Oppenheimer. Tom Holland will portray Telemachus, Odysseus' son, with Charlize Theron as Circe. The rest of the cast includes Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, and Jon Bernthal, amongst others. Recently Cosmo Jarvis had exited the film and Logan Marshall-Green joined him in his place.
With an estimated budget of $250 million, it is poised to be the most expensive film of Nolan's career and the first blockbuster to be shot entirely using IMAX film cameras and is scheduled to be released in theatres on July 17, 2026.
