‘The Odyssey’ Surpasses ‘Oppenheimer’ in Presales by More Than Double
Christopher Nolan occupies a unique position in modern cinema. His name alone can turn a summer release into a major cultural phenomenon, enticing audiences to leave their homes, travel across states, and wait in virtual lines for hours.
This reputation has been cultivated over decades, from ‘The Dark Knight’ through ‘Inception’, ‘Interstellar’, and beyond. With his latest film, ‘The Odyssey’, all that built-up enthusiasm is now reflected in a remarkable set of numbers.
When Premium Large Format tickets for ‘The Odyssey’ became available on June 4, the response was immediate and overwhelming. Within just 30 minutes, ticket sales on the AMC app were halted. Fandango’s website slowed significantly, and Regal faced similar issues. Customers on AMC experienced wait times of up to an hour just to get into the queue.
The chaos was notable, but a comparison circulating online has highlighted the demand in a truly astonishing way. According to tracking data shared by industry analyst @Itsjat32 on X, ‘The Odyssey’ has already sold 150,000 tickets in initial domestic presales for its opening weekend. For context, this figure more than doubles the approximately 65,000 tickets that ‘Oppenheimer’ had sold at a similar point in its presale timeline.
‘The Odyssey’ achieved the highest opening-day ticket presale performance for a major studio release at AMC since 2022. Remarkably, only PLF screenings were available during that initial rollout, meaning standard showtimes had not yet been released, yet the film still surpassed the first-day presale totals of any major theatrical release at AMC across all formats since that year.
AMC CEO Adam Aron took to social media to address the chaotic ticketing process, apologizing for the long wait times while confirming the record-breaking sales. In a narrow comparison, only music-related theatrical events from artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have generated higher initial advance ticket sales exclusively at AMC. This is the company that ‘The Odyssey’ is now keeping, even before a single mainstream showtime has been announced.
There’s a reason audiences trust Nolan, whose immersive films offer something unique at a time when theaters are filled with superhero sequels and franchise films. Part of what makes ‘The Odyssey’ such an anticipated event is its format. It is the first commercial feature film shot entirely on IMAX film cameras in 1570 format, a distinction that has led dedicated Nolan fans to treat securing a premium seat as akin to obtaining a concert ticket rather than a typical moviegoing experience.
Despite the high demand for ‘The Odyssey’ in PLF, availability is limited, as only 24 theaters in the U.S. are screening it in IMAX 70mm. The initial ticket drop in July 2025 saw resales on eBay for over $100. The recent presale in June triggered a similar situation, with tickets being resold for as much as $1,000.
‘Oppenheimer’ won the Academy Award for Best Picture and grossed approximately $952 million worldwide. It reignited the argument Nolan has been making for 20 years with films from ‘Memento’ to ‘Tenet’, that theatrical cinema is irreplaceable and that the experience of watching a large-format film in a well-maintained venue cannot be replicated at home. ‘The Odyssey’ arrives as the direct heir to all that goodwill.
In ‘The Odyssey’, Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who embarks on a dangerous journey to return home after the Trojan War. The film has a production budget of $250 million and features an A-list cast including Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and Robert Pattinson. Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, and Benny Safdie also contribute to a cast that showcases the immense talent Universal attracted to the project.
Current box office projections from Global Box Office estimate ‘The Odyssey’ will open to between $65 to $80 million, although these estimates were made prior to the presale frenzy on June 4 and may change significantly as standard showtime listings become available to the public later this summer. World of Reel
‘The Odyssey’ is set to hit theaters worldwide on July 17. If the presale figures are any indication, the buzz surrounding this film is just beginning.
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