We have some big news from the movie world today and it’s all about how awesome Christopher Nolan is. His new movie The Odyssey has already broken a box office record that has never been seen in Hollywood.
You heard that right. The Odyssey doesn’t come out in theaters until July 17, 2026 which is a whole year away. But it’s already making money! Yesterday, July 17, 2025 tickets for some IMAX 70mm showings went on sale in a few big cities around the world. And in just a few minutes they were gone. Really, just a few minutes. Some reports say tickets for some theaters like the Universal CityWalk IMAX and the Lincoln Square Theatre sold out in under three minutes. In LA some IMAX tickets sold out in under a minute!
This is nuts. We’re talking about a movie that’s still being made and won’t be out for another year but it’s already made over $1.5 million in pre-sales. This is the first time in movie history that tickets went on sale a whole year before a movie opens. To put it in perspective the last record was held by Fast X which went on sale three months before it came out. Nolan just broke that record and it’s because of him.
After the huge success of Oppenheimer which won many Oscars and almost made a billion dollars worldwide Nolan is more popular than ever. Audiences know he will deliver a unique movie experience especially in the IMAX 70mm format he supports. He’s been changing what’s possible in movies and it’s clear people want to be a part of it.
The Odyssey is going to be his biggest movie ever. With a $250 million budget it’s going to be the most expensive of his career. It’s also the first commercial movie to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras.
We know it’s a retelling of Homer’s old Greek poem about Odysseus’s journey home after the Trojan War. The cast is insane! Matt Damon is Odysseus, Tom Holland is his son Telemachus and there’s also big names like Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and many more. Just thinking about Nolan’s ideas in an action movie with this talent is enough to get any movie lover excited.
Tickets sold out fast for the IMAX 70mm shows so clearly more people want unique and exciting movie experiences. In a world where streaming is everywhere, Nolan is proving big movies are very much alive and kicking. People are going nuts for tickets and they’re already being resold online for crazy prices, $300 to $400 each! That’s insane but it shows the demand is high.
This box office record shows a few things: Christopher Nolan’s great reputation as a filmmaker, the excitement for a big screen Odyssey and the enduring appeal of watching movies in a theater especially when they’re shown in a high quality format. It’s a special moment in movie history.
