Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' launches globally as $250 million IMAX 70mm epic

Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, opened worldwide on 17 July 2026. Universal Pictures backed a $250 million budget and shot the entire three‑hour film on 70 mm IMAX film cameras – the first feature ever filmed completely in that format – across locations in Greece, Italy, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland, the United States and others.

The cast includes Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, Zendaya as Athena, plus Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron and many more. A sold‑out IMAX 70 mm showing at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles marked the first event‑style screening, and similar premium‑format screenings are planned in the limited 41 IMAX venues worldwide.

Technical challenges of the massive IMAX cameras – their size, weight and noise – were solved with acoustic housing and mirror rigs that let actors maintain eye contact. Critics have responded enthusiastically, with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 96‑98 % and praise for the visual scale, sound design and ambitious storytelling. The film is being hailed as a landmark in both cinematic technology and blockbuster filmmaking.