The Odyssey 70mm IMAX Tickets Resell for Hundreds

The Odyssey opens July 17 and carries a credential no film has held before: it’s the first major Hollywood feature shot entirely on IMAX cameras. Nolan used over two million feet of film and cut the final product by hand.

The format means every frame maintains the expanded 1.43:1 IMAX aspect ratio throughout, rather than switching aspect ratios mid-film like his previous work. For people who care about seeing films the way they were shot, this is a legitimately meaningful distinction.

That context explains the demand. Nolan has spent his career pushing audiences toward premium large-format screenings, and his fans have followed. The Odyssey is the payoff on years of that evangelism.

When AMC and Fandango opened advance ticket sales on June 4, both platforms struggled with the traffic. AMC’s website placed users in virtual queues immediately. Reports circulated of buyers waiting multiple hours and still coming up empty for prime 70mm showtimes.

The result: a lot of frustrated fans, and a secondary market with real demand behind it.

The raw flip here is modest but real. Tickets in most markets retailed somewhere between $20 and $40 for standard opening weekend IMAX 70mm showings. In major cities, the same seats are listed on eBay for $100 to $200 per ticket. After eBay’s roughly 13% fee structure, a $150 sale nets around $130, and a $200 sale nets around $174. On a $30 ticket, that’s $100 to $144 profit per seat.

The high-end listings are eye-catching. Pairs of tickets to see the film on opening weekend in major markets like LA and NYC are regularly touching $700 or more, and some attendees are dropping up to $1,500 for the best possible viewing experience.

Volume matters here more than single-ticket margins. A reseller who grabbed four tickets at $30 each and moves them at $150 per ticket clears roughly $400 after fees. That’s a solid afternoon’s work.

This is a pattern now. We covered Dune: Part Three 70mm IMAX tickets doing exactly this earlier this year, with opening night 7 p.m. seats retailing around $53 and flipping for $100 to $250.

There are 39 theaters showing the film in 70mm IMAX, globally. That hard supply ceiling is what makes opening weekend seats a real commodity. A standard multiplex can add showtimes; a 70mm projector cannot be conjured.

As long as Nolan keeps making films and keeps treating opening weekend as a cultural event, this will keep playing out the same way. Premium large-format opening weekend tickets have become one of the more reliable flips in the entertainment space.

For sellers who already have tickets: demand is real and the film is still six weeks out. Prices should hold and could climb as the July 17 date approaches and Nolan’s press run ramps up. The NYC and LA markets are where the premium prices are, so if you’re in a smaller city, adjust your expectations accordingly.

If you haven’t seen it already, the IMAX camera-shaped popcorn bucket for The Odyssey has its own resell narrative going. We covered it separately in our Odyssey IMAX popcorn bucket article. Short version: $50 retail, selling for up to $200 on eBay, and it was a final sale item with no refunds from IMAX. Keep an eye out for additional stock at theaters during opening weekend.