All articles tagged with #70mm
Premium-format cinema is driving a post-lockdown rebound, with packed 70mm IMAX screenings of The Odyssey at major venues like AMC Lincoln Square signaling a trend where big-format releases pull audiences back to theaters; the strategy extends to future hits like Dune: Part 3, which will enjoy exclusive IMAX access, underscoring how 70mm and other premium formats are shaping marketing and box office.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope will be shown in Imax 70mm for its 50th‑anniversary re-release in early 2027, marking the original film’s first Imax screening, alongside the Ryan Gosling‑led Starfighter, which opens May 28, 2027. Both titles will also release on digital Imax screens in a limited rollout, as Imax 70mm releases continue to grow in popularity.
Deadline reports that Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey will extend its IMAX 70mm run through September, adding 11 weeks of showtimes at 39 IMAX 70mm venues through Sept. 30. The film, shot entirely with IMAX cameras, uses the expanded 1.90:1 aspect ratio across most screens (with select IMAX with Laser/70mm sites at 1.43:1), and has been a major IMAX driver, contributing a large share of its global box office while continuing to push the format’s reach.
IMAX earns money primarily by licensing its brand and projection technology to theaters rather than owning venues, via two main streams: content solutions (studios pay about 12.5% of Imax box office) and technology products/services (selling, leasing or providing long-term revenue-sharing agreements). This licensing model lets cinemas charge premium Imax ticket prices, driving demand even as Imax itself owns only one theater. The company reported a record July in box office, with launches like Dune: Part Three on the horizon to sustain momentum.
Brady Corbet is shooting David Byrne’s 2025–26 Who Is the Sky? tour as a 70mm concert film, filmed over multiple nights at Baltimore’s Hippodrome, using 8-perf and 15-perf 70mm for widescreen scope. The project is produced by The Deep End Films with Pre-Code, and presented by River Road Entertainment, with distribution interests handled by Gersh and The Deep End’s team; Byrne praises the format’s ability to capture the show’s expansive visual scale, though no distribution details have been announced yet.
The Odyssey’s 70mm engagement at Los Angeles’ Alex Theatre has been extended through August 20, 2026, after the venue upgraded to 70mm projection and due to strong demand. It marks the theatre’s first first-run film since 1991’s Terminator 2, and the movie is nearing $1 billion worldwide after three weekends.
Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre installed a 70mm system and became the country’s highest-grossing venue for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, showing the epic three times daily after a $500,000 upgrade and extending the engagement; the Odyssey’s domestic box office totaled about $395.5 million over the weekend, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day led the overall box office, with the Alex planning more large-format engagements and upcoming releases like Dune: Part Three and The Magician’s Nephew.
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is being shown in multiple large formats, with 70mm IMAX currently available at Seven Bridges in Woodridge and additional Chicago-area options like 70mm screenings at Music Box and AMC River East 21 or AMC Roosevelt Collection 16, plus IMAX with Laser at River East and Regal City North and Premium Large Format at many AMC locations and Alamo Drafthouse Chicago. The article explains why 70mm IMAX is rare, notes sold-out initial screenings, and suggests choosing whichever format is most accessible to experience Nolan’s epic scale on screen.
Only about 25 US theaters and roughly 45 worldwide can show The Odyssey in true IMAX 70mm, a rare, labor‑intensive feat that relies on aging projectors and scarce parts. The 70mm film runs horizontally at 1.43:1, delivering unparalleled brightness but requiring constant maintenance—from water‑cooling leaks and refurbished platters to PalmPilot-era controls now emulated on iPads and a Windows XP audio system being upgraded. Despite the challenges, audiences flock to the tangible, imperfect magic of film, though future expansion remains limited and dependent on technicians keeping these giants alive.
Sony Pictures Entertainment will reopen and restore the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, with Alamo Drafthouse operating the venue. The Dome will retain its Cinerama branding and 70mm capabilities, while the adjoining 14-screen multiplex will become an Alamo site offering programming, premieres, and special events (not dine-in). Restoration begins next month and runs through early 2028, reviving a historic cinema space that has been closed since 2020.
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey opened to $264.1 million worldwide in its first weekend, marking the director's biggest-ever debut and ranking as 2026's third-largest opening. Domestic $124.5 million and international $139.6 million, with premium formats like IMAX 70mm driving a large share of the box office as theaters offered special early screenings to capitalize on the event.
Cinephiles are paying steep premiums to see Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey on 70mm IMAX, with about 25 theaters offering the experience. In New York’s AMC Lincoln Square 13, tickets run around $33, but demand is high enough that some listings on resale sites reach up to $1,000, and screenings are largely sold out through the weekend, prompting early-morning or late-night showtimes (up to 3 a.m.).
Christopher Nolan says The Odyssey will be his biggest film, shot entirely in 70mm IMAX and edited frame-by-frame by hand, a process showcased in a 60 Minutes clip where he explains the scale and challenges; Matt Damon calls it the hardest movie he’s done, and Nolan demonstrates cutting and gluing at the world’s last film lab, highlighting the artsy, costly “hard way” of high‑resolution storytelling for CBS/Paramount+.
Two Oscar-nominated Warner Bros. titles, Sinners and One Battle After Another, will return to select IMAX 70mm screens during the Oscar run (and possibly beyond), underscoring the films’ prestige as 70mm showcases; Sinners leads with 16 nominations and One Battle After Another has 13 nominations.
Cinemark is expanding its IMAX and 70mm film projection systems in the US and South America, including three new 70mm screens, ahead of Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey,' which is the first film shot entirely in IMAX 70mm, set to release in July 2026.