We wholly acknowledge how nerdy it was when we wrote extensively about seeing “One Battle After Another” in VistaVision. But Christopher Nolan and “The Odyssey” have proven that we’re now at a point where going out of your way to see the film in the unique IMAX 70mm format is no longer obscure.
“The Odyssey” is the first movie shot entirely on IMAX cameras in this 70mm format, and that distinct way to see it hasn’t been lost on anyone as a significant and important way to experience it. The format discussion has been such a part of the discourse around “The Odyssey” (ignoring that other discourse that won’t go away) that social media has been flooded with memes of watching “The Odyssey” on an Apple Watch, a refrigerator, a portable DVD player, or Michael Scott’s plasma screen from “The Office.”
Seeing “The Odyssey” in 70mm was one of the hottest and hardest-to-get tickets this weekend anywhere you went, but it actually bares out in the numbers and was not for lack of availability. Nolan’s film made $263.7 million globally this weekend, the third-highest MPA global opening of the year and Nolan’s biggest global debut ever. But it also made $51.8 million globally in IMAX screens, and $6.1 million specifically in IMAX 70mm this weekend.
That’s a significant chunk of change. In fact, it was nearly 12 percent of all the money IMAX brought in around the world this weekend. We’ve written before about how much premium formats can matter to a movie’s overall box office, and in this case that was even true for one very particular format.
In the U.S., “The Odyssey” fell just short of being IMAX’s biggest opening ever, bringing in $29.6 million and behind only “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” which did $30.0 million. It has a long way to go if it were to be IMAX’s biggest release ever, a title currently held by the original “Avatar” with $270 million, which is inclusive of its original release and its re-release. But it is IMAX’s biggest opening for a Nolan film ever, and globally it will likely surpass the $183 million lifetime gross managed by “Oppenheimer.”
It’s a testament to the faith Nolan placed in IMAX and the enormous investment IMAX and Nolan made to making “The Odyssey” work. Nolan’s movie cost Universal a budget of $250 million, and this is an enormous start toward recouping that and much more. But IMAX at the time of “Oppenheimer” had only 30 IMAX 70mm locations on which to screen his film. In preparation for “The Odyssey,” IMAX has now reached 41 locations.
Fortunately, “The Odyssey” will have a long runway to continue capitalizing on those premium screens. The film will remain in IMAX globally for at least three weeks, and it will stay on IMAX 70mm screens throughout August. We suspect the excitement around seeing it on that format won’t dissipate at quite the same rate it does everywhere else.
“’The Odyssey’ is among a rarified group of instant classic blockbusters in IMAX history that fully leverage our platform; as bullish as we are on its success, our experience tells us that even we don’t know how this movie will grow our brand and business,” says Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “Christopher Nolan summoned all his brilliance, imagination, and ambition to lead a world-class cast and crew in making this unforgettable film, and we at IMAX are eternally grateful to be a part of this journey that is just beginning.”