Only 41 cinemas can show Nolan's full format
IMAX Melbourne has become a destination for Christopher Nolan fans because it is the only cinema in the Southern Hemisphere with the 1570 reel of The Odyssey.
Some cinemagoers are crossing oceans to watch the film at IMAX Melbourne, while others are travelling across Australia for sessions there.
The Odyssey is the first feature film shot entirely on 1570 IMAX cameras, a choice that sharply limits where audiences can see it as Nolan intended.
According to Monash University, only 41 cinemas worldwide can project The Odyssey in full 70mm IMAX format, and IMAX Melbourne is the only one of those 41 venues in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tickets sold out well in advance of the release date across the opening weekends, reflecting strong demand for one of the few large-format screenings available.
Professor Olivia Khoo
Professor Olivia Khoo, from Monash University’s School of Media, Film and Journalism, said the rush shows audiences still value the cinema as a shared cultural event.
“Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is giving audiences an important reason to return to the cinema: the joy of a shared cultural experience and a cinematic event,” Professor Khoo said.
Khoo also argued that large-format venues such as IMAX offer a level of immersion that streaming services cannot match at home.
“Despite having numerous streaming options at home, cinema in large-format, immersive environments like IMAX cannot be replicated at home,” she said.
Nolan has long championed cinema as a distinct art form, and Khoo said that position carries extra weight because The Odyssey was designed for 70mm IMAX presentation from the start.
She also pointed to a fear-of-missing-out effect around major cultural events, especially when only 41 cinemas worldwide can show the film in its full format.
For viewers in Australia and elsewhere south of the equator, IMAX Melbourne is the only site that can present Nolan’s 1570 IMAX version at its intended scale.
