Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Sells Out within an Hour One Year in Advance

Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film, The Odyssey, went on sale a year before its official release, with 95% of seats selling out within an hour, resulting in about $1.5 million in sales. The announcement, made on Imax’s social feed, also caused a surge in ticket resales with prices spiking to $300-400. This unprecedented early sale is a testament to Nolan’s reputation as a filmmaker who consistently delivers all-audience event films.

– Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” went on sale a full year prior to its release, a historical move in the film industry. The movie is set to be shot entirely on Imax film cameras, a first for a commercial feature.
– Despite the early sale, 95% of seats were snapped up within an hour, equating to around $1.5 million in sales. There were reports of tickets being resold on eBay and other sites for $300-$400.
– The film has a net budget of $250 million, making it the most expensive in Nolan’s career and includes an A-list cast featuring actors like Matt Damon, Tom Holland, and Anne Hathaway. The plot follows the king of Ithaca on his journey home after the Trojan War as he encounters mythical beings.

A full twelve months before the release of his masterpiece The Odyssey, we had tickets going on sale for Christopher Nolan‘s film at 25 or 26 locations for the July 17-19 weekend screenings in addition to the previews on July 16. The Universal event film expected to be viewed in its Imax 70mm film format, Nolan’s preference, had promised a unique experience to its viewers starring Matt Damon as Odysseus. Shot entirely on Imax film cameras for the first time in commercial feature history, this story based on Greek mythology was highly anticipated.

Imax announced the special offer for this unique viewing experience on its official social feed close to midnight Thursday ET. Intrigue and fascination led to about 95 percent of the seats being taken within the first hour, thereby amassing sales of approximately $1.5 million, according to sources. There have been reports of reselling of these tickets online at nearly 10 times their retail prices, which averages from $25 to $28.

Unheard of before, tickets going on sale a year in advance has become a historical first in the film industry. The magnitude can be understood in reference to Nolan’s Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, another commercial success in Imax theaters which had done massive business. Now, Imax has approximately 16 locations in the US which are part of the current offer. The demand is such that key locations like AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York City, the Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood and the Regal Irvine Spectrum in Orange County are already overbooked. Meanwhile, Imax locations in other Californian regions including San Francisco, Dublin and Ontario have fewer seats left for the anticipated film.

Other sell-out Imax cinema locations include Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Buford, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Dallas, Texas. Renowned locations headquartered in Canada, including the Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga Square and the Cineplex Cinemas Vaughan and across the globe from London’s BFI Imax to Imax’s theater in Melbourne, Australia, too, are already sold out.

A return of over 20 percent of Oppenheimer‘s global gross was from Imax screens accounting for over $190 million of its total earnings. The Odyssey, budgeted at a $250 million is now poised to be the most expensive film Nolan has ever made. Given his undeniable prowess as a director, his past successes, and an impressive cast line-up including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, among others, this is anticipated to be a major draw.

The story revolves around the king of Ithaca, featuring his journey home post the Trojan War with a series of narratives of his encounter with mythical creatures. With the first teaser trailer exclusively launched in theaters alongside Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth, which continues to draw audiences, the buzz around The Odyssey has heightened. Despite it being a bit ahead of schedule giving the film is still being shot, Universal and Nolan’s team found the opportunity to maximize the appeal of this forthcoming event too irresistible to pass up.