Nolan's 'The Odyssey' hits cinemas as first all-IMAX feature, with 70mm tickets reselling for €1,100
Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' opened on 17 July as the first commercial feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras, while resale tickets for the rare 70mm screenings hit €1,100 and the director said he may now take a years-long break.
Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Homer's epic arrived in cinemas on 17 July, backed by an all-IMAX production that pushed cast and crew to physical limits. The release has been accompanied by a frenzy for the rare 70mm screenings and candid remarks from the director about exhaustion.
A punishing shoot at sea
During filming off the Scottish coast in July 2025, rough conditions left several actors vomiting over the side of the boat. Nolan asked cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema to keep the cameras rolling.
Would you mind if we filmed the vomit?
The crew agreed, and Nolan later called the resulting footage some of his favourite sequences. Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, said no one received special treatment.
If you're on a boat in the middle of the ocean and a storm hits, you get wet just like everyone else. Nobody gets a hot drink that you don't get. We were all in the same conditions, including Chris, who was as cold and soaked as anyone.
The IMAX gamble
Nolan shot the entire film with IMAX 65mm cameras, a first for a commercial feature. New soundproof housings, developed by IMAX at his request after "Oppenheimer," made dialogue scenes possible with the noisy equipment. Van Hoytema described the approach as "cinema in its purest form."
Only 41 theaters worldwide can project the 70mm IMAX version. The print weighs roughly 260 kg and stretches 17 km in length. The scarcity has driven resale prices as high as €1,100. Spanish audiences face a trip to Montpellier, France, for the nearest 70mm screen, though seven IMAX venues in Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza will show a high-quality digital version.
- United States
- 25
- Canada
- 9
- United Kingdom
- 3
- Belgium
- 1
- France
- 1
- Czech Republic
- 1
- Australia
- 1
Nolan considers a long pause
In an interview with Today, Nolan said the production had drained him.
I definitely reached the limit of my own endurance, and I think everyone's. I mean, it's The Odyssey, of course it has to be difficult. We're not doing our job of bringing The Odyssey to the screen if it doesn't look difficult.
He indicated he may take at least three years off, which matches his usual gap between films since "Interstellar" in 2014. If the break stretches further, "The Odyssey" could be his last release of the decade.
- Filming in rough seas off the Scottish coast; actors vomit, Nolan decides to capture it on camera
- The Odyssey opens in theaters worldwide
- Nolan tells Today he reached his limit and may take at least a three-year break
A crowded mythological landscape
The new film arrives alongside renewed interest in older adaptations. Spanish public broadcaster RTVE offers a free 1976 miniseries directed by Albert Boadella and performed by Els Joglars, originally aired as children's programming. A 1997 two-part miniseries starring Armand Assante, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, is available on YouTube. The cast of Nolan's version includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong'o, with Logan Marshall-Green joining after Cosmo Jarvis dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
