IMAX Posts Record $52 Million Global Opening With Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) has notched its biggest global opening weekend ever, pulling in $52 million alongside Universal Pictures’ release of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The film marks the first theatrical release ever shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film cameras, and IMAX captured a striking 20% share of the movie’s worldwide debut.

Nolan’s mythic action epic, built around a next-generation IMAX film camera and a new sync-sound system developed specifically for the shoot, broke a long list of company records on its way around the globe:

  • Biggest global opening weekend ever in like-for-like markets (excluding China, Japan, and South Korea), topping the previous record by 16%
  • Biggest international opening weekend ever in those same like-for-like markets
  • Second-biggest domestic opening weekend in IMAX history
  • Biggest opening ever for a Christopher Nolan film
  • Biggest opening ever for a Universal Pictures release
  • Biggest opening ever recorded in the month of July
  • Biggest pre-sales total ever, at $50 million

The film is drawing particular attention in its rarest format: true IMAX 70mm film, screening at 41 locations worldwide. Those 70mm engagements alone generated $6.3 million over the weekend, averaging $153,000 per screen. The Odyssey is set to keep running in IMAX for at least three more weeks, rolling out to South Korea on August 5, China on August 14, and Japan on September 11. The 70mm film presentations specifically are booked for at least five weeks, and many of those locations are already selling out shows well into the film’s run.

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond called the film part of a rare class of blockbusters that fully leverages the company’s platform, adding that even IMAX doesn’t yet know how far the film will push its brand and business. He also pointed to the film’s pre-sales, reviews, and its presentation in IMAX as reasons to expect a long theatrical run.

Regionally, North America delivered $29.6 million in IMAX box office off just 444 screens, good for a 23.8% market share. Internationally, the film brought in $22.2 million across 441 screens in 74 markets, a 16% share of the international box office. Twenty-six of those markets — including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and Argentina — logged their biggest IMAX opening weekend on record.

Behind the camera, Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot 2.1 million feet of IMAX film for the project. The pair worked with IMAX engineers to build a new film camera, nicknamed “The Keighley” after the company’s late Chief Quality Gurus David and Patricia Keighley, along with a compatible sound blimp for use across multiple IMAX film cameras.

IMAX also used the release to launch its first-ever collectible popcorn bucket, styled after the company’s IMAX 15/65mm camera. The limited-edition item sold out its first two drops almost immediately, with more becoming available through IMAX’s online store and at IMAX locations.

Across the full weekend of July 17, IMAX generated $60 million in global box office. Local-language titles out of China, Japan, and South Korea rounded out the results, led by China’s All Wishes Come True at $3.3 million.