If you happen to be lucky enough to live in one of the cities showing Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX, you’ve no doubt been frustrated by the fact that showtimes are selling out almost around the clock. Here in Montreal, every screening is sold out for weeks, with only a handful of front-row seats occasionally available. It’s gotten so bad in some cities that there have even been reports of people reselling tickets for huge markups.
Thankfully, if you’ve been waiting for demand to cool before seeing The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX, you have a little more time. IMAX announced today that the film’s exclusive run on its 70mm screens has been extended through September 16.
The following day, Sony’s highly anticipated Resident Evil is expected to take over some of those screens. However, given the overwhelming demand, it’s possible the two films could share some locations, or that The Odyssey could eventually return to certain theaters.
Several IMAX releases are scheduled between now and then, including The End of Oak Street and Onslaught, and both are still expected to open as planned. However, neither was shot in a way that takes advantage of IMAX’s full 1.43:1 aspect ratio. The End of Oak Street was partially filmed with IMAX digital cameras, meaning its maximum aspect ratio will be 1.90:1, so digital IMAX screens will still be presenting the film as intended.
The Odyssey‘s 70mm IMAX run has been such a phenomenon that many fans have wondered why IMAX hasn’t built more theaters capable of projecting the format. Only 25 theaters in the United States and 16 internationally can currently show 70mm IMAX prints. Unfortunately, the components needed to manufacture new film projectors are no longer being produced. Most of the existing projectors are roughly 50 years old and had to be extensively retrofitted to screen modern releases. That scarcity has only fueled demand, with ticket sales showing no signs of slowing down.
Have you seen The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX? Let us know in the comments!