You thought you had time. You thought we’d get a trailer first. At the very least .. the movie would be finished filming. Nope. Think again.
Apparently, Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is going full nuclear. IMAX 70mm tickets are going on sale July 17, almost a full calendar year before the film’s actual release.
Not kidding. Showtimes are already live on Harkins and Cinemark. Pick your city — New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, D.C. — and there it is: a full slate of 70mm IMAX screenings dated for next summer.
The sheer audacity of this — it’s kind of brilliant. It’s also insane. The movie is still shooting. The runtime listed with the showtimes is 2 hours and 40 minutes, which is clearly a placeholder.
The precedent here doesn’t really exist. The closest comparable event might be “The Dark Knight Rises” — Warner Bros dropped 70mm midnight tickets about six months in advance back in 2012. But even that feels tame in comparison to this. One year? That’s new territory.
The question becomes: what the hell are we doing here? How is anyone supposed to plan a moviegoing commitment a year in advance? What if you’re sick that day? Out of town? What if your life changes and you’re no longer the kind of person who lines up for 70mm IMAX openings?
There’s something weirdly beautiful about the commitment. It’s a declaration. An act of faith. A cinematic pilgrimage. You’re buying the ticket today to go to church 365 days from now.
More IMAX theaters are expected to list their ‘Odyssey’ showtimes in the coming hours. The 70mm IMAX disciples have already begun marking their calendars.