Nolan's Odyssey Opens in Thousands of Theaters, With IMAX 70mm in About Two Dozen

Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey opened this week in thousands of movie theaters across the United States. The film is the first commercial feature shot entirely with IMAX-film-camera systems. Only about two dozen domestic theaters are playing the movie in the IMAX 70mm format intended by the director.

The rest of U.S. theaters are showing versions that may be cropped into smaller aspect ratios or projected without the clarity and texture of the original film stock. The Odyssey is intended to be projected in IMAX 70mm’s 1.43:1 aspect ratio.

Just a few dozen theaters in the world are equipped to show the film in these dimensions with exact IMAX 70mm film stock. When a 1.43:1 film is projected onto a different-size screen, theaters excise parts of the frame, with some theaters dispensing with as much as 40 percent of the image. IMAX 70mm projectors in the United States are concentrated in a few metropolitan areas.

There is only one IMAX 70mm projector in the entire Southern Hemisphere. IMAX obsessives are reportedly flying cross-country to see the film at certain theaters. Resale tickets for IMAX 70mm screenings have been listed on eBay for hundreds of dollars.

IMAX 70mm reels weigh hundreds of pounds and need to be loaded with a forklift. Projectionists need to be trained to use the equipment. The standard digital version of the film is presented in a traditional widescreen aspect ratio.