Topline
Demand for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” appeared to surge Thursday afternoon after ticket sales kicked off, triggering secondary ticket postings up to $1,000 on eBay as AMC and Fandango experienced disruptions and long wait times for premium screenings of the highly anticipated movie.
Wait times for online tickets reached over an hour for “The Odyssey.” (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Tickets to see “The Odyssey” in IMAX 70mm during its July 17 opening weekend reached between $500 and $1,000 on eBay for showings in New York, Texas, Florida and Arizona.
Tickets for the fantasy epic went live on AMC at 12 p.m. EDT, though the queue was paused by AMC within the first half hour of the drop as moviegoers presumably flooded the website.
Problems reported by users on downdetector.com spiked for AMC and Fandango shortly after tickets went live, with users on X also reporting errors with the purchase process.
Wait times for tickets reached over an hour on AMC’s website, which appears to have returned to normal operations following early hours of the sale.
Forbes has reached out to AMC and Fandango for comment.
What Is Special About IMAX 70mm?
The pricey tickets on eBay are primarily for IMAX 70mm screenings of “The Odyssey.” The format delivers triple the resolution of standard 35mm film and is several times larger than normal screens. “The Odyssey” is also the first feature film to be entirely shot on IMAX camera, meaning screenings of the movie will maintain the same aspect ratio throughout unlike movies partially shot with IMAX that bounce between different ratios. Nolan is a high-profile advocate for IMAX and often encourages audiences to see his films in the format if possible.
What Other Movies Have Experienced Ticket Scalping?
Scalping typically occurs with highly anticipated, buzzy movie releases. Secondary markets like eBay also cropped up for tickets for the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in 2021 and “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019. Tickets for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” were also hit by scalpers in 2015, with tickets being sold on Ebay, Craigslist and StubHub, according to Variety.
Key Background
Nolan’s movie is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars, as his last film, “Oppenheimer,” scored $975 million at the global box office. After “Oppenheimer” won seven Oscars on 13 nominations in 2024, “The Odyssey” is also being teed up as frontrunner for the 2027 Academy Awards as it boasts a stacked cast consisting of Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya.