Every U.S. City Showing the Odyssey in True 15/70 Imax

The Odyssey has turned the hunt for the perfect theater seat into its own kind of homecoming quest that even Odysseus would find daunting. Christopher Nolan more than just wanted his Homeric epic seen big. He wanted it seen the way he built it, frame by frame, on the largest film format cinema has ever offered general audiences. This has been accompanied by fans spending weeks planning their travel routes only so they could get to the nearest screen showing the movie the way it was meant to. 

The film, featuring Matt Damon in the lead role of Odysseus, that everyone wants to see is not the digital IMAX film showing at the multiplex right down the road, but the true 15/70 film presentation, and that can only be seen on a few screens — 25 across the United States to be precise. Before getting to the list of theaters, though, it’s worth understanding exactly what this format is and why Nolan has staked so much of the film’s rollout on it.

Quick reference:

What Is True 15/70 IMAX and Why Is It Special?

So what differentiates “15/70 IMAX” from the IMAX sign hanging atop your typical multiplex movie screen? Well, it all boils down to the film stock. Regular 70mm movie film typically travels through the projector vertically with five perforations per frame. IMAX is the reverse, for the film travels horizontally and is punched with 15 perforations per frame instead of the usual five. That’s the origin of the “15/70” shorthand.

The bigger horizontal frame is why IMAX calls this the largest and highest-resolution format available for theatrical exhibition. It fills the format’s signature floor-to-ceiling 1.43:1 screen. It is a matter of equipment, not strategy; there have been no film projectors designed to play 15/70 mm film in decades, so theaters have to refurbish existing machines instead of purchasing new ones (via Variety). One 70 mm print of this movie would be about 11 miles long and weigh about 600 pounds, making it necessary to use twin platters and a special projectionist team for every theater screening it.

This is not unfamiliar ground for Nolan either. The director has always been an outspoken proponent of the movie-going, theatrical experience. His The Dark Knight was the first major feature film to be partially shot with IMAX 70mm cameras. He has always fought for IMAX 70mm projection of his movies instead of using it as just a promotional trick. 

This has all stemmed from Nolan’s approach when building a film in the first place. Nolan composes his images for the largest possible format available, hence the scenes captured for the 1.43:1 aspect ratio simply don’t exist in the same way after being cropped down into a phone, television, or even your usual multiplex cinema sizes. For a film whose plot is a metaphorical journey home, it made sense to create one for it. That sense of scale that Nolan brings to his movies is why we want him to make a western next, instead of horror.

The gambit has clearly paid off. The Odyssey opened to roughly $264 million worldwide, the biggest global debut of Nolan’s career, surpassing even The Dark Knight Rises.

Every U.S. Theater Showing The Odyssey in 15/70 IMAX

The Odyssey is best enjoyed on an IMAX 70mm screen | Credits: Universal Pictures

As of now, only 25 movie theaters in America are capable of showing The Odyssey in true IMAX 70mm film, which is a small but significant increase compared to what the film format had back in 2023 during Oppenheimer‘s time (19). Based on the confirmed venue list published with the film’s rollout, here’s where U.S. audiences can catch it. The following data is via IMAX.

For anyone who is still contemplating whether it would be worth it to visit one of the 25 giant screens for The Odyssey, then FandomWire’s own review should settle any such doubts. FandomWire’s Joshua Ryan wrote in his 9/10 review of The Odyssey that the movie “is a generation-defining epic on a scale that only Christopher Nolan could deliver.” And that is why The Odyssey was made for IMAX 15/70.

Made the trip to see The Odyssey in true 15/70 IMAX? Drop a comment and let us know if it was worth the trek.

Christopher Nolan’s latest movie, The Odyssey, is currently running in US theaters. It was released on July 17.