Does This Early Screening of ‘The Odyssey’ Show Fans Skipping Work to See It

A tweet from a user named han, posted on X under the handle @heymorewords, has garnered significant attention this week, and it’s easy to understand why.

She shared a screenshot of the AMC app displaying the seating chart for a 7 AM showing of ‘The Odyssey’ at AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York, revealing that the entire theater is completely sold out. Not partially full. Not mostly booked. Every single seat is gone for a screening that starts before most people even have their morning coffee.

Her caption encapsulates what many are thinking: “this is pure unemployment activity because wdym the entire theatre is sold out for a 7 AM showing of the odyssey??” While it’s a humorous take, it raises a valid question. Who is waking up before sunrise on a Friday to watch a three-hour Greek epic, and how are there enough of them to fill an entire IMAX auditorium?

This isn’t just a random occurrence. According to reporting from Variety, the demand for ‘The Odyssey’ in IMAX 70mm has escalated into a full-blown frenzy, with AMC Lincoln Square being one of the most sought-after venues in the country. Fans are reportedly crossing state lines, purchasing dozens of tickets across multiple weeks, and yes, waking up at absurd hours to catch the film in the format that Christopher Nolan shot it in.

One fan named Simon James told Variety he has bought eighteen tickets to see the movie at that specific theater over the film’s first three weeks in release. Eighteen. Another individual is flying from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles just to see it in 70mm because his hometown lacks the appropriate screen. So, a 7 AM sellout in New York starts to make more sense when you consider the scale of what’s happening here.

Part of the reason this particular theater is so crowded is that IMAX 70mm film projection is genuinely rare. Not every IMAX screen can show a movie this way, so the number of theaters capable of doing it is limited, and Lincoln Square is one of the largest and most well-known on the East Coast. When you combine that scarcity with Nolan’s massive following and the fact that this is the first movie ever shot entirely on IMAX cameras, it leads to fans treating ticket purchases like it’s a concert on sale day.

The Hollywood Reporter previously covered a similar phenomenon when advance tickets for these opening weekend 70mm screenings first went on sale a full year before the movie’s release. Within an hour of going live, 95 percent of those seats were already sold, and resale prices for some climbed as high as three or $400 for tickets that typically cost around $25.

So, the 7 AM sellout that sparked all these jokes on X isn’t particularly surprising when you look at the bigger picture. It may seem extreme to see hundreds of people commit to a movie before the sun is fully up, but for a certain type of film enthusiast, this has transformed into a cultural event rather than just another Friday release. Would you actually attend a 7 AM screening of a three-hour movie, or does that sound like a hard pass? Let us know in the comments.