Christopher Nolan‘s The Odyssey will open in Prague next month in one of the rarest theatrical formats available, with the city’s Cinema City Flora among just three cinemas in the European Union equipped to screen the film in 70mm IMAX as originally intended by the filmmaker.
The highly anticipated adaptation of Homer’s epic will be released worldwide on July 17, with Prague joining only Brussels and Montpellier among EU locations offering the large-format presentation. Globally, fewer than 40 theaters have been confirmed to screen the film in IMAX 70mm, the intended way to experience Nolan’s latest production.
One of Europe’s rarest cinematic experiences
According to IMAX, The Odyssey is the first narrative feature filmed entirely with IMAX film cameras, continuing Nolan’s long-standing commitment to large-format celluloid. Unlike previous productions that mixed IMAX footage with conventional formats, every scene was captured using the company’s highest-resolution cameras.
The 70mm IMAX presentation uses 15-perforation film running horizontally through the projector, producing an image in the towering 1.43:1 aspect ratio. The format fills IMAX’s floor-to-ceiling screen and offers substantially greater image area and resolution than standard digital projection or conventional 70mm film.
While the movie will also screen in digital IMAX, Dolby Cinema, premium large-format auditoriums, and standard theaters worldwide, only dedicated IMAX 70mm venues can reproduce the film exactly as it was photographed. Other versions preserve much of the visual presentation but crop or reduce portions of the original image.
The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, and others. Nolan wrote and directed the film, while longtime collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema served as cinematographer after previously working with the director on Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, and Oppenheimer.
Van Hoytema has previously said advances in IMAX camera technology convinced Nolan it was finally possible to shoot an entire dialogue-driven feature using the format. Earlier generations of IMAX cameras were considered too noisy and cumbersome for many dramatic scenes.
Opening weekend sold out a year in advance
Interest in Prague’s screenings has already proven exceptionally strong. Cinema City released tickets for the first four opening weekend performances last year, and all sold out within hours.
The advance demand mirrors enthusiasm seen elsewhere, with IMAX venues worldwide reporting rapid ticket sales following the announcement of participating theaters. Because only a limited number of 70mm IMAX prints exist, each participating cinema has become a destination for audiences seeking the full-format presentation.
Cinema City is expected to announce additional Prague screenings in the coming days. Given the speed at which the initial performances sold out, moviegoers hoping to see The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX should monitor Cinema City’s website and social media channels early this week, as any newly released tickets are also expected to sell quickly.
Prague is no stranger to hosting one of Nolan’s preferred presentations. In 2023, Cinema City Flora became the only cinema in continental Europe to screen Oppenheimer in IMAX 70mm, joining a select group of just 30 theaters worldwide. At the time, the Prague venue was one of only five locations outside North America equipped to present the film in its full 1.43:1 IMAX aspect ratio.
That screening also highlighted Nolan’s dedication to photochemical filmmaking. For Oppenheimer, the director and van Hoytema worked with Kodak and FotoKem to develop the first black-and-white IMAX film stock, allowing portions of the movie to be photographed on large-format film rather than relying on digital conversion.
With The Odyssey, Nolan has pushed the technology further by making the first feature filmed entirely with IMAX cameras. For audiences in continental Europe, Prague will once again be one of the few places where the director’s latest work can be experienced in the format for which it was conceived.
