Having Trouble Seeing "The Odyssey" in 70MM IMAX? This is Why
When tickets first went on sale for The Odyssey, subscribers of It's the Pictures got immediate notice. That's because I knew there would be a rush to see the movie in this format.
Max Covill
When I saw the movie on Thursday night, I bought another ticket for two weeks later without much issue. But once the reviews and word of mouth from the opening weekend hit everywhere, everyone had to be in on the sensation. There is no switching format like Nolan had to do on Oppenheimer.
It is the first movie to be shot entirely on IMAX 70MM.
There are only 25 theaters capable of projecting the format. According to a piece published by Variety, there are now a 41 projectors available to screen The Odyssey in IMAX 70MM. The article goes into discussion with the CEO of IMAX Richard Gelfond who says that the institutional knowledge and cost to build new projectors capable screening at this format is cost prohibitive. Apparently the design files for the projectors weren't properly maintained and when theaters switched to digital in the early 2000s, most of these projectors were discarded or ill preserved. This is currently the best they can do even if they could've properly estimated demand.
Brent Lang from Variety filled another piece with discussions from passionate film goers who were making big plans to see the movie.
Because many Imax auditoriums don’t have the capacity to showcase movies in 70mm, people are crossing state lines, snapping up tickets to multiple showtimes months in advance or even settling for 2 a.m. screenings of the nearly three-hour epic just so they can be part of the moviegoing phenomenon.
So you aren't only competing with a lack of available theaters that can show the movie in the format the director says "you have to see it in," but you are also competing with cinephiles that are willing to travel and/or stay up until ungodly hours in the morning to see the movie.
Rhode Island is one of the only places to view the movie in this format in the Northeast, which means the Providence Place IMAX theater is sold out well into mid-August for showings of The Odyssey. It's worth noting that the cinema only screens the movie four times a day, the earliest at 10am and the latest at 9:30pm. If you do plan on seeing the movie in 70MM, I highly suggest you book tickets now since I helped a family member get tickets for the second week in August. That wasn't even an evening screening, but rather a 10am weekday screening.
It wasn't always a slam dunk that Rhode Island would be able to screen The Odyssey in 70MM. Even though the previous owners of the IMAX theater, National Amusements, screened Oppenheimer, they didn't renew their lease last fall. Thankfully the screen and the accompanying theater were bought by the chain Apple Cinemas and they did the proper restorations needed to welcome theatergoers to The Odyssey. Now I don't know too much about the future of Providence Place Mall, but if you want to know about the mall you could always watch Secret Mall Apartment on Netflix, which I reviewed as well.
Max Covill
Right now demand to see The Odyssey in 70MM is greatly outpacing supply. Expect cinephiles from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and more to be in your screening in Rhode Island. That's a lot of people coming to see one movie. If you missed my thoughts on the movie, check out my positive review below:
Max Covill
Member discussion