Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Nolan's “The Odyssey” Shorter, Starts July 17, IMAX 70mm

4/30/2026

50 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Nolan Announces Odyssey

Christopher Nolan announced The Odyssey will run shorter than Oppenheimer’s 180-minute runtime.
Production begins July 17, 2026, shot exclusively on IMAX 70 mm, a Hollywood first.
Universal Pictures will release the film worldwide on July 17, 2026, featuring a cast that includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Jon Bernthal.

Summary

Nolan Sells Out

Advance IMAX 70 mm tickets for The Odyssey released in July 2025 sold out within hours at multiple venues.
Industry analysts predict The Odyssey could exceed Nolan’s prior $975 million-$1.085 billion grossers.
Early market buzz cites the all-IMAX 70 mm format and cast overlap with Spider-Man: Brand New Day as drivers of premium-ticket demand, a point highlighted at CinemaCon.

Summary

Damon Prepares

The debut trailer sparked fan debates about the film’s historical and mythological accuracy.
Matt Damon slimmed to his high-school weight and endured intense conditioning to portray a lean Odysseus.
UAE audiences will see the movie on the new Yas Mall IMAX screen, a 23.2-metre laser-projected display that will showcase the trailer’s iconic moments such as the Trojan Horse infiltration and a Cyclops cave battle.

History

Historical Context

Christopher Nolan’s 2008 blockbuster The Dark Knight, shot with high-resolution IMAX 70 mm cameras on a $185 million budget and grossing over $1 billion, proved premium-format releases could dominate box-office charts. Warner Bros. leveraged that success, and the film’s record IMAX pre-sales reshaped Hollywood’s distribution. The upcoming July 17 2026 start of Nolan’s full-IMAX ‘The Odyssey’ follows this proven model.

1 of 4

Nolan Announces Odyssey

Christopher Nolan announced The Odyssey will run shorter than Oppenheimer’s 180-minute runtime.
Production begins July 17, 2026, shot exclusively on IMAX 70 mm, a Hollywood first.
Universal Pictures will release the film worldwide on July 17, 2026, featuring a cast that includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Jon Bernthal.

1 / 4