Updated

Updated · Variety · Jul 17

Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Sets 2026 Preview Record at $17.6 Million, Beating 'Toy Story 5'

Updated

Updated · Variety · Jul 17

Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Sets 2026 Preview Record at $17.6 Million, Beating 'Toy Story 5'

Q: Beyond Nolan, does large-format film have a future, or is this the format's spectacular last stand?

Large-format film is unlikely to disappear, but its future is as a premium niche, not a mainstream format. “The Odyssey” shows there is still real demand for 15/70 IMAX when a filmmaker gives audiences a reason to seek it out. Nolan’s influence matters, but the format’s survival does not rest on him alone. IMAX, Kodak, Panavision and FotoKem have already committed to building a new generation of IMAX film cameras, with quieter designs and updated materials. That is a meaningful industrial investment, not the behavior of a company preparing a funeral. The case for the format is clear. True 15/70 film still offers image quality that many filmmakers and projection specialists argue digital cannot fully match: extremely high resolution, a distinctive analog texture and a sense of scale that turns a screening into an event. That helps cinemas sell premium tickets at a time when theaters increasingly depend on experiences people cannot replicate at home. But the limits are just as clear. Only a tiny number of theaters can project 15/70 film, prints are expensive and heavy, cameras are cumbersome, and digital IMAX and other premium large formats are far easier to deploy. For most audiences, the future of “IMAX” will remain digital. So this is not a spectacular last stand. It is a consolidation into a rarefied format, sustained by a handful of major directors, specialized venues and audiences willing to travel and pay for the highest-end version of theatrical cinema.

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Jul 17

$17.6 million in previews gave “The Odyssey” the biggest preview haul of 2026, edging “Toy Story 5” at $17.5 million and signaling opening-weekend forecasts of $90 million to $100 million may be too low.
IMAX demand has powered the early surge: the film is the first shot entirely with IMAX cameras, and premium-format screenings have sold out as fans traveled long distances and even paid steep resale prices for 70mm tickets.
Christopher Nolan’s last film, “Oppenheimer,” opened with $10.5 million in previews and an $82 million weekend before reaching $975 million worldwide, giving “The Odyssey” a strong benchmark for staying power.
That staying power matters because the film carries a $250 million production budget and roughly $125 million in marketing, while early reviews have been strong with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score.