Demand for Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" surged Thursday afternoon after ticket sales began, leading to tickets appearing on the secondary market for up to $1000 on eBay, while AMC and Fandango platforms experienced technical difficulties and long wait times for premium screenings of the highly anticipated film, Forbes reports.
Tickets to see the film in IMAX 70mm format during the opening weekend, which begins July 17, have been fetching prices between $500 and $1000 on eBay for screenings in New York, Texas, Florida and Arizona.
Ticket sales began on the AMC platform at 12 noon Eastern Time, but the company temporarily halted the purchase queue in the first half hour, likely due to the huge number of visitors accessing the site at the same time.
According to data from the Downdetector website, the number of reported issues for AMC and Fandango spiked shortly after the sale began, while users on Network X also reported errors during the purchase process.
The wait time for purchasing tickets on the AMC website exceeded one hour, although the system appears to have returned to normal operation later.
The most expensive tickets sold on eBay are mostly for IMAX 70mm screenings of "The Odyssey." This format offers three times the resolution of standard 35mm film, and the screens are many times larger than traditional movie theater screens.
"The Odyssey" is also the first feature-length film to be shot entirely in IMAX cameras. This means that screenings will maintain the same aspect ratio throughout, unlike films that are only partially shot in IMAX and switch between different display formats.
Nolan is one of the most famous advocates of IMAX technology and often recommends that audiences watch his films in that format whenever possible.
Reselling tickets at significantly higher prices is common for highly anticipated blockbusters. Similar incidents occurred with "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Avengers: Endgame," which were also sold on the secondary market. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was also targeted by resellers, with tickets being offered on eBay, Craigslist and StubHub.
Nolan's new film is expected to gross hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. His previous film, "Oppenheimer," grossed $975 million at the global box office.
After "Oppenheimer" won seven Oscars out of a total of 13 nominations in 2024, "The Odyssey" is already considered one of the main favorites for the 2027 Oscars.
The film brings together an impressive cast including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya...
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