UPDATE: The latest numbers have “The Odyssey” selling over 23,000 tickets nationwide, across 22 locations. Most of the shows are sold out.
EARLIER: Christopher Nolan’s next epic, “The Odyssey,” doesn’t hit theaters for another year, but the hype is already here. IMAX 70mm tickets quietly went on sale this morning, just a few hours ago, and the inevitable frenzy followed.
Yep, Nolan and Universal are going full nuclear. They’ve decided that, almost a full calendar year before the film’s actual release, tickets should be available to purchase. 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.
Most theaters offered only a single 7 p.m. screening per day for opening weekend. Predictably, tickets in major markets like New York and Los Angeles vanished in minutes. Within the hour, reports surfaced that nearly all IMAX 70mm showings were sold out entirely.
Of course, the scalpers swooped in. Screenshots circulating on social media show resellers already listing pairs of AMC Lincoln Square IMAX tickets for over $250. Another pair, this time in Georgia, is going for over $700. Fans are now going online, accusing ticketing platforms of fueling the problem by allowing bulk seat purchases without restrictions.
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, and they also quickly sold out. But even that feels tame in comparison to this. One year? That’s new territory.
As for production on the film, after two weeks in Scotland, Nolan and his actors arrived in Morocco this week for more shooting. Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Zendaya were all spotted on location.
“The Odyssey” reportedly has a budget of around $250M and will utilize brand-new, state-of-the-art IMAX cameras, with cinematography by Nolan’s go-to DP, Hoyte Van Hoytema. Ludwig Göransson will most likely be composing the score. The film is scheduled for release on July 17, 2026.