The Odyssey released in cinemas on July 17 and won over audiences with its exceptional subject, Christopher Nolan’s masterful direction, mass-appealing yet emotional moments and award-worthy performances. It also had a major technical distinction as it became the first feature film to be shot entirely using IMAX 70mm film cameras. As a result, the demand to experience the epic on IMAX screens was extraordinary.
For more than two months, 70 days, to be precise, The Odyssey continued to play across all 34 IMAX screens in India, with demand remaining particularly strong over the weekends. Its remarkable IMAX run finally came to an end with the release of Avengers Endgame: Encore, which took over the premium-format screens.
But what The Odyssey achieved during those 70 days is nothing short of historic. The Christopher Nolan directorial has emerged as the highest-grossing film in IMAX in India of all time, comfortably surpassing the record held by Nolan’s previous film, Oppenheimer (2023). While Oppenheimer had collected under Rs. 50 crores from IMAX screens in India, The Odyssey has ended its IMAX run with a phenomenal Rs. 96.81 crores. While the English version contributed a staggering Rs. 96.34 crores, the IMAX Hindi-dubbed version collected Rs. 47.21 lakhs.
At one point, there was hope that The Odyssey could achieve the unthinkable and cross the Rs. 100 crore mark from IMAX alone. That would have been a feat of epic proportions. Nevertheless, Rs. 96.81 crores remains an extraordinary benchmark, and it is difficult to predict which film will be able to challenge this record in the near future.
What makes the achievement even more impressive is that The Odyssey faced competition from several major releases during its run. Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrived two weeks later and created a frenzy among moviegoers. Yet, The Odyssey continued to draw audiences in IMAX. More than a month after its release, the film was even pushed out of 33 of India’s 34 IMAX screens for a day to accommodate Toxic. However, following the poor response to the latter, Nolan’s period epic made a sensational return to IMAX cinemas the very next day, a rare occurrence that underlined the sustained audience demand for the film.
To date, The Odyssey has collected Rs. 191.44 crores across all formats and languages in India. This means that a massive 50.6% of its total collections have come from IMAX screens alone, further highlighting just how integral the premium format was to the film’s blockbuster run.
The film is currently in its eleventh week and continues to play in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kolkata in non-IMAX formats. Even at this stage, the occupancy remains healthy, indicating that The Odyssey is well on course to complete an impressive 100-day theatrical run.
Interestingly, The Odyssey is not completely disappearing from IMAX just yet. The film will return to an IMAX screen tomorrow, Sunday, September 27, with a 12:15 pm show at Delhi’s PVR Priya. However, this is expected to be an isolated screening, and an occasional IMAX show may continue to pop up once in a while depending on availability and demand.
For all practical purposes, though, the glorious uninterrupted IMAX run of The Odyssey has come to an end, and it has done so by leaving behind a record that could stand for a very long time.
The collections of The Odyssey in IMAX
Week 1 – Rs. 27.98 cr
Week 2 – Rs. 22.46 cr
Week 3 – Rs. 16.10 cr
Week 4 – Rs. 12.11 cr
Week 5 – Rs. 6.53 cr
Week 6 – Rs. 5.16 cr
Week 7 – Rs. 2.32 cr
Week 8 – Rs. 2.61 cr
Week 9 – Rs. 1.00 cr
Week 10 – Rs. 0.55 cr
TOTAL – Rs. 96.81 cr
