Imax says 70mm ‘Odyssey’ screens are scarce because projectors are relics

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is landing nationwide this weekend, but the version its backers keep talking up is playing on a very short list of screens.

According to Variety, only 25 theaters in the United States can project the film in true Imax 70mm. That has sent some fans into travel-planning mode for a presentation Nolan, cast members including Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway, and Imax have promoted as the ideal way to see the movie.

The company’s explanation is blunt: the gear is old, rare and hard to revive.

At the film’s Tuesday premiere, Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told Variety that demand is there, with some theaters already sold out into a fifth week. The catch, he said, is that new Imax film projectors have not been manufactured in about 50 years.

“We retrofit them, rebuild them and part of our strategy is to see how far we can take it,” Gelfond told Variety. “But certainly, demand-driven, I’d like to see more.”

Old machines, missing parts

“The Odyssey,” an adaptation of Homer’s epic, is the first feature shot entirely with Imax film cameras, according to Variety. That makes the 70mm film rollout a showcase for a format with big bragging rights and very practical limits.

Imax sources told Variety that many parts required for the specialized projectors are no longer available. The publication reported that the original design files date back roughly half a century and were not fully preserved, leaving the company without a complete manufacturing blueprint.

Variety also reported that few current engineers fully understand the old systems, a problem tied to the movie business’s shift from film projection to digital projection beginning in the late 2000s. As theaters adopted digital systems, which Variety described as cheaper and easier to maintain, production of film projectors and replacement parts faded.

Interest has returned in recent years, helped by filmmakers such as Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, according to Variety. The format, though, remains a specialty experience.

Gelfond told Variety that Imax builds new projectors daily, but making film projectors for this format is “just not practical.” He said Imax cannot turn all 2,000 of its theaters into film-projector venues because there are not enough systems available, though he said the company can keep expanding the number.

A scavenger hunt before opening weekend

After “Oppenheimer” helped deliver a near-record box office year for Imax in 2023, Variety reported that the company pushed to expand its 70mm film capacity before “The Odyssey.”

For more than a year, Imax searched for damaged, unused and forgotten projectors, salvaged components, refurbished machines and installed more systems, according to Variety. The effort also required training 60 new projectionists.

The result: 41 Imax 70mm locations worldwide for “The Odyssey,” compared with 30 for “Oppenheimer,” Variety reported. That figure reflects a net gain of 11 after one projector was lost during the process.

Imax told Variety that some obsolete components were nearly impossible to source because the parts are complex and the market is too small to attract manufacturers.

There is also a real-estate problem. Imax designs and sells or licenses cameras and projection systems to exhibitors such as AMC Theatres, Variety noted. Last year, Imax and AMC announced a deal to add 12 new Imax locations in the U.S. and upgrade 68 existing locations to Imax With Laser.

Expanding 70mm is tougher. Imax told Variety that exhibitors are not building enough auditoriums that can fit its tall 1.43:1 screens because construction costs are high. Even if more projectors were available, the company said there are limited places to put them.

Imax told Variety it wants more 70mm systems available for filmmakers using the format and is exploring new projection technologies. For now, the company’s revived relics are carrying one of the year’s most sought-after movie tickets.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.