Glendale's Alex Theatre Relaunches for 70mm 'The Odyssey' as Only 25 U.S. Sites Show Imax Prints
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jul 17
Glendale's Alex Theatre Relaunches for 70mm 'The Odyssey' as Only 25 U.S. Sites Show Imax Prints
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Jul 17
Summary
The 100-year-old Alex Theatre is returning to first-run film releases for the first time since 1991, adding 70mm screenings of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” after Imax showings sold out and ticket demand crashed AMC’s app.
Three weeks of work created a new projection booth for 35mm and 70mm film, and the theater secured a last-minute 70mm print that costs tens of thousands of dollars to make, ship and distribute.
Only 25 U.S. theaters are showing “The Odyssey” in Imax 70mm, while just 41 venues worldwide can project the format, exposing how few theaters and skilled operators remain for large-format analog releases.
Imax hired 130 experienced projectionists and put them through a weeklong training program, reflecting a labor shortage after U.S. projectionist employment fell to 2,610 in 2023 from about 8,000 in 2012.
The scramble around “The Odyssey” is fueling a broader 70mm revival, but executives and projectionists say growth is constrained because film projectors are scarce, aging and no longer manufactured at scale.