Hollywood's marketing playbook is receiving a groundbreaking new entry, courtesy of Universal Pictures and director extraordinaire Christopher Nolan. Precisely a year to the day following the release of Nolan's masterpiece, "The Odyssey," advance tickets have embarked on sale for Imax theaters outfitted to present the epic saga in 70mm film—the Oscar-winning filmmaker's preferred format. This unprecedented offer officially commenced at midnight EDT on Thursday, as announced through Imax's social media channels.
This milestone marks the very first instance in cinematic history where tickets have gone on sale an entire year ahead of a film's premiere. However, it's worth noting that, as of now, only a handful of Imax screens in the United States possess the capability to screen films in 70mm.
Nolan's adaptation of the timeless Greek myth, starring Matt Damon as the legendary hero Odysseus, is a revolutionary first for a commercial feature film, being shot entirely on Imax film cameras. Such an endeavor was once deemed impossible, but following the immense success of Nolan's Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer," he collaborated with Imax to enhance their cameras, addressing challenges related to processing the 70mm film stock and the equipment's weight.
Imax screens contributed significantly to "Oppenheimer's" total global gross of $975.8 million, accounting for over $190 million or 20%. "Chris called me and said, 'If you can find a way to solve these problems, I will shoot [Odyssey] entirely in Imax,'" recounted Imax CEO Rich Gelfond during the company's annual press lunch at the Cannes Film Festival in May. "He pushed us to reimagine our business, our film recorders, and our film cameras."
Currently, these state-of-the-art film cameras are exclusively reserved for Nolan, but once "The Odyssey" wraps up, Imax plans to rent them out to other directors. Nolan has long been an avid advocate of Imax cameras, utilizing them in films such as "Dunkirk," "Interstellar," the "Dark Knight" trilogy, and "Tenet."
With a net budget of $250 million, "The Odyssey" is poised to become the most expensive film of Nolan's storied career. The extraordinary box office success of "Oppenheimer," a biographical drama about atomic energy, once again proved Nolan's ability to deliver an all-audience event film. The epic scale and star-studded cast of "The Odyssey," including Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway (appearing twice in the credits, presumably a typographical error highlighting one of her roles), Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Mia Goth, promise to attract vast audiences.
The classic tale follows the king of Ithaca on his arduous and perilous journey home to his wife Penelope after the Trojan War. Along his travels, he encounters numerous mythical creatures, including the Cyclops Polyphemus, the Sirens, the enchantress Circe, and ventures into the Underworld.
The exclusive teaser trailer for Nolan's highly anticipated film debuted in theaters alongside Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth," which opened during the Fourth of July weekend to immense popularity and continues to draw large crowds. Releasing the teaser so far in advance is somewhat unconventional, considering "The Odyssey" is still in production. However, the allure of an all-audience blockbuster like "Rebirth" presented an opportunity that neither Universal nor Nolan's team could resist, despite the teaser being leaked online. Similarly, news of the advance ticket sales leaked prematurely when some theater chains jumped the gun by announcing that tickets for select 70mm screenings would go on sale on July 17.
