Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey sold 28,000 tickets at the BFI IMAX in London in its first 24 hours on sale, generating £750,000 — roughly one million dollars — and breaking the venue’s all-time first-day record. The film does not open until July 17.

That figure more than doubled the previous record set by Dune: Part Two and came close to quadrupling the number Nolan’s own Oppenheimer produced on its first day of ticket sales at the same venue. AMC theatres in the United States also reported their highest first-day advance PLF ticket sales in four years, with IMAX 70mm tickets alone generating $1.5 million in early advance bookings.

The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, with a supporting cast that includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Charlize Theron. It is the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX 70mm cameras, a decision that required custom equipment across all filming locations.

Box office projections have risen sharply since the record pre-sales. Analysts now track a domestic opening weekend between $70 million and $90 million. Nolan’s last film, Oppenheimer, opened to $82 million in the United States in July 2023 and earned more than $900 million worldwide.

The film adapts Homer’s epic poem about the Greek hero’s decade-long journey home after the Trojan War. Nolan has described the project as his most ambitious in terms of production scale. Four opening weekend screenings at the BFI IMAX sold out in under an hour when they first went on sale.

Summer 2026 has already produced major box office results. Toy Story 5 opened to a franchise record $164 million domestic in its first weekend. The Michael Jackson biopic crossed $911 million worldwide. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is tracking between $47 million and $58 million for its June 26 opening, a figure analysts say will determine the health of the new DC film slate.

Nolan’s pre-sales at this scale, arriving months ahead of release, suggest that audience appetite for large-format theatrical experiences remains strong. Premium large format screens have become a key revenue driver for studios navigating the post-streaming era.

Opening weekend demand will be tested against competing summer releases, but the volume of advance bookings already on the books is exceptional for a film this far from its release date. Deadline has the full breakdown of ticket sales figures by venue.