Nolan fans brave 3 a.m. for The Odyssey in 70 mm
At AMC Lincoln Square 13, Rolling Stone found moviegoers chasing rare IMAX 70 mm seats for Christopher Nolan's $250 million epic.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
At 3 a.m. on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, movie fans were still filing into AMC Lincoln Square 13 for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, according to Rolling Stone’s CT Jones.
The crowd, spotted in everything from pajamas to post-night-out dress shirts, had one shared target: seeing Nolan’s new film in IMAX 70 mm. For some, that meant waking up around 2 a.m. and treating a middle-of-the-night screening like a prized appointment.
Rolling Stone reported that sisters Morgan and Haley said securing seats had been a fierce scramble, and that they were prepared to stay awake as long as needed to get in.
The film opened July 17, just over 24 hours before the Sunday morning showing described by Rolling Stone. Demand had been intense since tickets went on sale in June, with fans reportedly causing AMC, Fandango and IMAX apps to crash for hours and forming long online queues on ticketing sites.
A rare format becomes the main event
The Odyssey is a $250 million adaptation of the Greek classic, with a cast that includes Matt Damon, Himesh Patel, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page and Charlize Theron.
Rolling Stone reported that the format itself has become a central part of the frenzy. Nolan shot the entire film with IMAX 70 mm cameras, and only 25 theaters in the United States can project it that way.
Viewers who cannot get into one of those locations face a version with less of the original image at the edges, according to Rolling Stone. For the fans interviewed, that made the 3 a.m. slot feel less like an inconvenience and more like a mission.
Nelson Aldama told Rolling Stone he was not worried about nodding off after a full day that included watching a World Cup match with friends and attending a WWE event at Madison Square Garden. He said he wanted to take in every part of the image, from background performers to props and settings.
Pearl and Yitzy Leonorowitz told Rolling Stone they are major Nolan fans and wanted the chance to see the movie in the format they understood it was made for, even at 3 a.m.
Last-minute seats and long-distance trips
Daniel Sahi, 18, already had tickets for a later showing, Rolling Stone reported. After spotting a single newly available seat through a movie app, he grabbed the 3 a.m. option, citing past 70 mm screenings and Nolan’s reputation as reasons to go immediately.
One group of friends told Rolling Stone they paid $80 each through eBay. Worried the tickets might not work, they sent one person to the theater in advance to have a staffer print the tickets in person.
The same night also drew fans from well beyond the neighborhood. Rolling Stone reported that Scott came from Canada hoping to land a ticket, Alinne chose the late showing despite having a 7 a.m. train to Ithaca, and one couple traveled from Wilmington, Delaware, after striking out closer to home.
Tomas, who arrived with a Red Bull, told Rolling Stone the 3 a.m. screening would be his second viewing of the film within 24 hours.
The turnout arrived after pre-release criticism from conservative and boosted X accounts, including Elon Musk, over the casting of Nyong’o, a Black woman, as Helen of Troy, Rolling Stone reported. At Lincoln Square, the focus was on the seats, the screen and the chance to see Nolan’s epic in its rarest form.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.