Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated epic The Odyssey has not even hit theaters yet but it is already breaking the internet. Fans rushing to grab IMAX and premium large format seats overwhelmed ticketing platforms on Thursday.
AMC app Crashes
AMC’s ticketing app paused briefly after demand for IMAX and other premium large format screenings of The Odyssey surged following tickets going on sale Thursday. Sales eventually resumed but wait times stretched up to an hour.
Outage tracking site Downdetector recorded 872 reports of AMC not working as of 12:13pm EST.
Fandango was not spared either, with users reporting long wait times on its website as well, per Variety. As there were 289 reports of website not working as of 12:04pm EST, per Downdetector.
On social media, frustrated moviegoers complained about the difficulty of securing seats in their preferred format. It is not the first time AMC’s systems have buckled under pressure, similar crashes occurred during the release of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film in 2023 and again for her 2025 film Showgirl, as per Variety.
Also Read: God of War Laufey: Release date, plot, gameplay and everything we know about Sony’s new PS5 spinoff
Why fans are going to such lengths to see Odyssey
Nolan is a well-known champion of the IMAX format and used the company’s proprietary cameras to shoot The Odyssey. The enthusiasm is nothing new; when his previous film Oppenheimer released, fans travelled across state lines just to watch it in IMAX 70mm, per Variety.
Last summer, opening weekend IMAX 70mm screenings of The Odyssey were made available and sold out almost immediately which is an extremely rare occurrence for a film that far from its release date.
Nolan recently explained his vision for the film to 60 Minutes in recent interview and said, “When I’m writing, I’m visualizing the film as an audience member, as somebody experiencing the story. Then, when I direct the story, I’m trying to take the audience there. So, in the case of ‘The Odyssey,’ I’m trying to put the audience into that horse. I’m trying to put them on the deck of Odysseus’s ship.”
Also Read: Why was Chris Robinson booed? Inside the Black Crowes singer’s ‘U-S-A’ chant clash
The Odyssey gets an R Rating despite massive budget
According to Variety, The Odyssey has received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association. The exact reason has not been revealed, though the film is based on Homer’s epic poem, which includes battles and violence.
R-rated summer blockbusters are not very common, as studios usually prefer PG-13 ratings to attract a larger audience. However, Nolan’s previous film, Oppenheimer was also rated R and still earned nearly $1 billion worldwide.
The Odyssey has a budget of $250 million and could become the most expensive R-rated movie ever made, surpassing films such as Joker: Folie a Deux and Deadpool & Wolverine.
The film opens July 17 and carries a production budget of $250 million, featuring an A-list cast including Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson. Universal is distributing the film, which is widely expected to be one of the summer’s biggest hits.