The director’s cinematic adaptation is selling out Imax theaters worldwide, making it one of the longest pre-sales in cinematic history.
Usually, it’s highly anticipated musical acts, like Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, that sell tickets a year in advance and inspire a resale market worth hundreds.
But director Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey” is already selling out a year ahead of its July 17, 2026, release date, making the cinematic retelling of Greek king Odysseus’s journey home after the Trojan War one of the longest pre-sales in cinematic history.
Selling tickets to a film this far in advance is unusual, said Northeastern University film experts, especially since filming of the Homer classic, which features Matt Damon as Odysseus, isn’t even completed yet.
“This film being so popular so far out, in my opinion, really came out of nowhere,” said Tomas Elliott, an assistant professor of English and creative writing at Northeastern University. “I was surprised that there was such interest in it.”
The hype over Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is due to a combination of factors. For starters, it’s the first commercial feature film shot entirely on Imax film cameras in 1570 format.
Nolan has used Imax cameras throughout his career, starting with “The Dark Knight” in 2018. “Oppenheimer,” his 2023 Academy Award-winning film, was shot entirely on Imax 65 mm film.
“I think it is definitely a combination of audiences anticipating something extraordinary by counting on what they know: an award-winning director and star-studded cast in an epic work on an Imax screen,” said Ericka Knudson, a visiting lecturer in cultures, societies and global studies at Northeastern University. “It becomes an experience — not unlike early cinema that was sometimes seen as a fairground attraction.”
The tickets sold so far are just for screenings during the opening weekend at 26 Imax cinemas with the capability of showing the film in 1570 format, the largest and highest resolution film format possible.
“We have all gotten used to films from every era and country being available all the time through streaming,” Knudson said. “We are longing for something special, something more concrete, an experience we can’t get at home. Not too long ago, if an obscure film or classic was screening in an arthouse theater, or if a new blockbuster was released only in theaters, people were excited to take part in that event, knowing they wouldn’t have the possibility of seeing it again for months or years.
“The buzz around ‘The Odyssey’ stems from that,” she continued. “The fact that viewers expect it to be an extraordinary experience and that Imax theaters aren’t in every city makes it exciting.”
Because the film isn’t completed yet, cinemas don’t know how long it’ll be and can only schedule one showing per day. This has created a sense of scarcity. Imax Melbourne reported selling 1,800 tickets overnight, while tickets across the United States sold out within hours and are now available for resale for hundreds of dollars.
The format, combined with Nolan’s popularity and the cast, is likely part of the reason for the early buzz. (In addition to Damon, the ensemble cast includes Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Tom Holland as Telemachus, Odysseus’ son.)
Elliott said in producing a remake of this Greek classic, Nolan is harkening back to genre films of the 2000s, like “Gladiator” and “Troy,” which took viewers back to classical worlds in what Elliott describes as “swords and sandals cinema.”
The director is also continuing to offer what Elliott describes as “aesthetically interesting” takes on genre films. His takes on the superhero film (the Batman trilogy), the war film (“Dunkirk”), and science fiction films (“Interstellar”) are all relatively well-regarded.
“I would say that Nolan’s brand is very well established,” Elliott said. “He’s directed more aesthetically interesting takes on well-known genres. He is one of the directors with the kind of commercial and critical kudos to take on a project as grand as ‘The Odyssey.’”